Stick That in Your Juice Box
by premonitioner
Summary: That reminds me. We have one last thing in common - we can all see ghosts. So...stick that in your juice box and suck it. ABANDONED
1. Prologue

**This is just a prologue for one of those many post-Bleach fics. And, this will be the only chapter that's in the present tense. The rest will all be in past tense from the main characters view point. And that's my intense and cold authors note over, starting on my fun one! **

**Whee, got bored and my imagination took over my body and came up with this. Also…the next five chapters of this story are already written. Chapters two and three happen before this prologue, and then from there on out, it's after this chapter. But, don't worry, I've made it so it's not really that confusing. xD Critique is welcomed! 8D

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Most people, for their sixteenth birthday get cool things. Like credit cards, or cars or stuff like that. Me? I get a giant picture of my mother to hang in my room.

Let me explain.

First of all – my mother is dead. She died shortly after I was born, so, I don't really remember her and I'm not really sad about it, because how can I be? I didn't know her, so I can't mourn her. I think that my lack of melancholy on this matter is partly the reason I got this stupid memorial to begin with.

Secondly – my father, like his father before him, is mad. Completely bonkers. Needs locked up in the house with the white cushioned walls. Crazy. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

So, yeah, he's nuts. We already have a giant memorial picture of Mother in our living room and beside the one of my paternal grandmother at my grandfather's house. So, tell me _why_ exactly I need one for my room. It would take up valuable wall space that I could use for my idol posters! I don't need anymore reminding that my mother is dead, thank you very much. My father must be a sadist as well as a psycho if he wants to keep reminding himself of that.

My whole family is crazy. My uncle on my mothers side (the only remaining member of her family, it seems, and he's not even related by blood. He's my mothers brother in law) sent me a necklace with a plum blossom charm on it. It was cute, I admit, but the note he sent with it?

_To my niece, _

_To remind you of the flowers that bloomed on the death day of your name sake, I give you this necklace. Happy sixteenth birthday._

Creeeeeeeepy. It's like every man related to me is obsessed with the woman that made him a widower. Oh, yeah, by the way, I'm named after my dead aunt. See, I told you my family was screwy. The only normal one is my dad's sister. Well. He has two. They're twins. And as untwinlike as you can get. The normal one plays ladies soccer at an international level. So it's a novelty when she comes to visit. The one who inherited the crazy gene is a kindergarten teacher, and needs a tranquiliser every time she comes near me. I'm not a kid anymore, I don't need informed of how many centimetres I have grown since the last time I saw you.

She gave me a big pile of my favourite artists albums…I guess you could say I like the stuff that came out at the start of the century, like Hikki-chan, Super Junior, Access, Tamaki Nami, Aqua Timez, Yui, High and Mighty Color, stuff like that. Due to the fact that there must be like, twenty five CD's in that box, her respect points have gone way up. The other twin sent me a signed soccer ball, jersey and boots. These shall be framed, never worn and shown very proudly to my best friends.

The presents I got from my friends were cool (a phone charm and three first release edition volumes of my favourite manga, if you were wondering). My friends are cool. Yeah. Just cool. Not amazing or praise worthy, because they're annoyingly dense of each other, and if I have to leave a room to make throwing up noises because they're making the goo-goo eyes at each other today, I'm gonna throw those presents back in their faces.

It's like, geez, confess to each other already! I'm not as close as they are, because their mothers were best best friends and stuff, and my father was only just a friend of their parents (which is how we all came to meet, when we were the ripe old age of four), and there's a funny story behind all our parents. See, Nem-chan's dad hated my dad, while her mum had a mega crush on him. And Ken-chan's mum ALSO had a crush on my dad, and his dad had a crush on my mum. So, I am therefore coolest out of the three of us, because I was born to the pair that everyone wanted.

I only have two proper friends. I guess you could count my classmates, but they're more of acquaintances. There are some things that the three of us have in common that the others wouldn't really understand. Ah! You probably think I'm stuck up, or like, really emo but really, I'm not.

It's just like; all three of us have lost a blood relative. I lost my mother, Ken-chan lost his dad, and Nem-chan lost her brother. And, incidentally, we're all named after dead people who were important to our parents. Or had done something for our parents. Or something similar to that. Because Nem-chan's middle name is weird (it's like, Spanish or something), and she's apparently named after some girl who saved her mum's life. It makes you wonder what kind of person her mother was when she was younger.

Another thing about us that we have in common. Our parents are quite young. Like, my dad is the oldest (albeit, by two days), and he's only thirty three. So while everyone else's parents are hitting their fifties, it's awkward to say that our mothers went and got themselves pregnant at the fine old age of eighteen. Great example to set there, mum! Go get yourself preggers, pop out a kid and then die three months later, leaving your born-out-of-wedlock child to be raised by her idiot teenaged father. I'm not going to bitch about Ken-chan and Nem-chan's mothers because they're nice people, and they didn't die on their children.

Maybe I'm being a little harsh. You're probably wondering _why_ our parents decided to be another statistic in the teenage pregnancy percentage. Well, they've always avoided that question. My dad does it most effectively by bursting into tears and throwing himself against afore mentioned memorial poster, wailing my mother's name. Nem-chan's mum gets a faraway look on her face and then goes to look at old photo albums, and her dad…well, he pushes his glasses up his nose, makes them glint in the light and goes back to his work. We don't bother with Ken-chan's mum. She'd beat us up if we mention it again (she was the Vale Tudo champion before she had Ken-chan. She'd take us on no prob). So, yeah, if any of you find out why, let us know. We're dying to.

That reminds me. One last thing we have in common, that no one will ever understand. I and my friends, that is, Hisana Kurosaki, Nemu Ishida and Kenpachi Arisawa-Abarai, we can all see ghosts. So…stick that in your juice box and suck it.

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**Word Count – 1,141**


	2. Encounters of a Hollow Kind

**Thank you for all the reviews I got! I'm really happy! Oh, just so you guys who are following this know, I'll update on every Sunday of the week. –grin- Hopefully I'll have this finished before the summer when I **_**can't**_ **update every week. xD Anyways. Enough of my babbling. **

**Disclaimer: -checks- Nope, still don't own Bleach. Not yet, anyways. –grin-

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I myself first discovered that I could see what others couldn't when I was six. My old man had just left me off at the dojo that Ken-chan's mother ran. He wanted me to be able to fight, but I was going through a childish rebellious stage at that moment, so I went inside, and left as soon as he was gone. It wasn't hard. They didn't call a register, and Ken-chan's mum didn't take the beginner class, so she couldn't report it to my dad that I had been skipping.

I went down to a river bank that ran alongside a main road. It was and still is my favourite place in Karakura, because it has the peacefulness of the river in front of you, and the noise of reality behind you so you never get sucked into an illusion.

Yeah. I was a _deep_ six year old. I didn't believe in Santa Claus, or the Tooth Fairy or ghosts. And if you told me that I would have met a Death God that day, I would have laughed at you.

I had been sitting there, minding my own business, watching the high school kids play soccer on the other side of the bank, when I heard the most terrifying scream. What scared me the most was that no one else even noticed it. People walked past talking on phones, the soccer players were still playing, and the river was still running when the ugly thing tore a hole in the sky and leapt down to earth.

I couldn't move. I couldn't even breathe, and I don't think it was because I was scared, it's because the atmosphere became so _heavy_. All I could do was stare at it as it sniffed the air, looking around, and I shuddered when it roared.

"_**I smell a delicious soul!" **_

At this point I was thinking about how I was going to die and how I should have been a good girl and gone to karate class and if I somehow survived this I would never ever skip again and I would hug my dad and cry my eyes out. Then it noticed me.

"_**It was **_**you**_**? Who would have thought that such a little boy would have so much spirit power!" **_

I got annoyed at it then. So what if I had to cut my hair short? It was _not_ my fault that Kenpachi decided it would be fun to blow a huge bubble of bubblegum in my face and get it all stuck to my hair.

Yes, I looked like a boy, but god damnit I am a _girl_! And like the idiot I am, I picked up the nearest rock, put all my energy into it and threw it at the monster, screaming at it to shut its face. That didn't even put a scratch on it.

Nope, it just got it really pissed off. It started screaming all these weird words in what I now recognise as Spanish, and I decided it was high time I got the hell out of there. One problem.

Actually, a few. First, I had to run up a very muddy, very steep river bank. Second, I was very small, and it was very large, and even if I ran it would have caught up to me anyway. Third. Third. Third was that I didn't stand a chance against it. So I was incredibly lucky when it suddenly burst into black particles and disappeared.

I know I said I would have cried when I saw my father again, but the shock just came to me and I burst into tears in front of the white haired young man in the black kimono and the white haori. He didn't even seem to notice me either. I think I had suddenly become invisible to the world.

"Th-thank you!"

He only turned round when I shouted my gratitude, and the look on his face was one of utter surprise. Might I say, this guy may have been my first crush. He was really quite handsome, now that I think about it, despite having a very long scar running down the side of his face, but, I am probably biased based on the fact that he saved my life.

"You…can see me?" he asked, his eyebrows almost touching his white hairline. Weird thing about this guy, he looked really young, but had white, white hair. I was about to answer when a busty woman (who reminded me _so_ much of Nem-chan's mother it is unreal), suddenly appeared out of nowhere, bowing and apologising. She noticed me a few seconds after I wondered if the blonde's breasts were going to pop out of her kimono, and stared.

"Taichou…this kid looks like…" The woman was looking at the younger man and pointing at me at the same time. I was affronted. She was about to call me a boy, I just knew it. So I stood up, crossed my arms and adopted the Kurosaki scowl.

"Before you say anything, I'm a girl!" I exclaimed loudly, staring defiantly at the oddly dressed pair. I mean, there were no festivals going on at that point in time. And then they looked at me like _I _was the odd one. I mean; the cheek of them. But the woman knelt down to me and wiped my tears.

"No one thinks you look like a boy. You are obviously a girl. I was just about to say that you look like someone we know, okay?" I nodded, not really understanding because I have bright orange hair which my dad gave me.

Who would she know that looked like _me_? But, she still smiled at me. "You can call me Ran-nee-chan and this guy over here is Shiro-" She paused as she received a glare from the white haired guy. "You can call him Taichou."

I looked at the boy in surprise. Taichou? A captain? He didn't seem old enough to be one. "A taichou?" I asked, seeking confirmation. "But…I thought captains were in the army…" I blinked as the woman smiled.

"We're a sort of army. We fight against those kinds of monsters you just saw," the Ran-nee-chan explained, pulling a handkerchief from the inside of her kimono and wiping my face and dirty hands with it. "We're shinigami."

I remember being vaguely surprised. Until that day, I thought shinigami had been things of storybooks and ghost stories. And then I realised that's why no one else could see them or that monster. That I had a special gift and that no one should know, and that it was going to be my little secret.

"But…because no one is supposed to know about us, I'm going to have to make you forget what you saw…" Ran-nee-chan whispered gently, and I frowned. They were going to take away my gift, the thing that made me different. I clutched at her hand as she went to pull something else out of her kimono.

"Please…don't. I swear, I won't tell anyone, and they wouldn't believe me if I did. I won't even tell my dad!" I promised, silently pleading with Ran-nee-chan to let me remember. Her face softened again, and she looked like she was about to protest in the motherly way she had been talking when she was interrupted by the taichou.

"Leave it, Matsumoto. With the amount of spirit power she has, she'd just get targeted again and again. It's better off letting her remember and sealing her power just a bit…she's leaking it out all over the place…"

The white haired boy was staring at me so intently that I felt I had to blush. Ran-nee-chan stood up, grinning like a maniac.

"Just like you when I first found you," she teased, and she sniggered behind her hand as he looked at her, his eyes completely devoid of the mirth that filled hers. They acted like an independence seeking younger brother and a doting older sister. It amused me.

"No, she reminds me more of Kurosaki," the boy retorted calmly, and Ran-nee-chan 'ahh'ed and nodded in agreement. I frowned at them.

"How do you know my surname?" They both turned to look at me with great surprise. Taichou's mouth was hanging wide open, and Ran-nee-chan was flapping her hands wildly at him.

"Taichou, it's her, it's her!" Ran-nee-chan squealed, grabbing Taichou's shoulders and shaking him wildly. To this day, I still can't figure out what they were talking about. And why and how they knew of me.

"You will be an amazing shinigami one day!" Ran-nee-chan told me as she held two fingers in front of my face, muttering some words. I suddenly felt weak after that, and I passed out.

When I woke up, I was already at home, and my dad smothered me as soon as I opened my eyes. He wasn't even mad that he found me unconscious on that river bank as he went to pick me up. Years later, I found out that it was on that river bank that my grandmother, his mother, died, right in front of him. It led me to understanding the man I call my father just a little bit.

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**Preview: **And that she had once been Vale Tudo champion and was now a mother/housewife/model/personal trainer for the stars/zombie extraordinaire who could and _would_ kill us if she turned up the glare-o-meter to 'looks _can_ kill'.

**Word Count – 1,531**

**Thanks for reeeeaaaadiiiing! –skips off to work on chapter six- **


	3. Letters from Stangers

**): Very few people reviewed…Izzy was sad…but, she got story alerts, so that made up for it! –dances- I thought I'd put up a chapter a little early as a 29****th**** February present (even though it's already March for me), and I got it finished early this week. (SPOILER) Also in celebration of Spoonhead getting his ass kicked by that sexy monster, Kenpachi. **

**Disclaimer: It's next on my list, right after a cure for cancer and the common cold, and world domination. I mean, if I'm an evil dictator, Kubo Tite is **_**obviously**_** gonna write for me.

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It was four years later that I found out that Nemu could see spirits too. By the time I was eight, I could differentiate between the normal ghosts that I saw everyday (and usually around my grandfather's house, since he did own a clinic and some people did die there), those monster things (which I learned to stay _well_ clear of) and shinigami. The latter were a very rare occurrence, and I hadn't seen Ran-nee-chan or her Taichou since that incident.

With Nemu, it was with a little girl ghost who kept on wandering around our house, crying for her brother. I tried to get her to move on, but it was hard to talk to her without my dad hearing and then make myself seem like a crazy person. I mean, it's not like my _dad_ could see ghosts. That would have been ridiculous.

But, yeah. Nemu was over one day because her parents were at a conference in Tokyo (they're both very skilful doctors), and she wasn't talking to Kenpachi at that point (lovers spat, I still argue.), so our house was the only option.

My dad dotes on Nemu whenever she's over. Apparently, she's his second daughter. I had jealousy issues when he first proclaimed this. I was only seven, and you know how seven year olds get when they're jealous. Like two year olds, except to a lighter degree.

Anyway. My dad was out getting the pizza for our dinner, and I was watching television when Nemu started screaming blue murder from the kitchen, so I rushed out there, only to find her standing on the table, pointing a spoon at the translucent ghost girl who had tears streaming down her face.

I couldn't stop laughing, even five minutes later. I mean, come on! Think of the scene. Nemu, with her wavy dark hair, her round 'moe-character' glasses, brandishing a spoon like it could seriously hurt someone, while this poor little brunette of a five year old quivers in fear behind a chair. Even when I bring it up now, she just hits me and blushes in embarrassment.

It took me a while to explain it to her. Mainly because, I didn't really know much myself. I had tried, believe me. I googled shinigami, I went to specialist shops, I searched eBay from top to bottom for books on them…nothing.

It seems like whatever memory erasing technique they have _works _.All I knew was that she had the same gift as me, and that she could tell no one about it, because normal people weren't supposed to know.

"Hisa-chan…how long have you known? That you were able to see ghosts, I mean…" Nemu asked me as we sat in the kitchen, the ghost girl having gone to try to find her brother once again. My dad still wasn't back yet, and I was grateful. It was a huge relief to find someone who had the same abilities as me. Much less in my own best friend.

"Since I was six…I was told not to tell anyone, because no one is supposed to know…I'm sorry I didn't tell you," I explained, hoping she would forgive me. She smiled and shook her head, and I was once again glad that she was born to her mother, the kind and understanding person that she is. We stayed up late that night, and I told her about every encounter with ghost, monster and shinigami. It brought us closer together.

Kenpachi, on the other hand, finding out he was spiritually aware was a much more terrifying experience.

We were fourteen. Only two years ago. My hair was once again boy length, due to another bout of rebelliousness (blame my mother, she apparently _never _followed the rules…or was it my dad? You know what? It was probably both of them…). Nemu was starting to grow her manslayers that would put her mother and Ran-nee-chan to shame. Kenpachi refused to hang out with us because we were too girly, but it was really because he was scared of Nemu's chest. Well. That's what I think anyway.

That summer was especially hot, with me and Nemu refusing to leave my room with its amazing air conditioning and that mini-fridge I got from my dad for getting into the same high school as him.

Well, we refused until my dad kicked us out, being serious for once, because he had work to do and we were being noisy. I've never been interested in what he does, but what do I know is that it involves _a lot _of paperwork.

Once again, Nemu's parents were at a conference, and there was only one place left to go. Kenpachi's house. Great thing about his house is, well…it's huge. His mother gets a lot of money for teaching people, making appearances on TV shows and stuff, and she obviously reaps the benefits. But, unlike loads of other rich people, she so down to earth she's underground. She's the coolest person I know, and I'm not just saying that because she can kick my ass at anything.

So, we pounded on Kenpachi's door for about five minutes before his mum came to the front door, her hair defying gravity, and glaring at us with sleep deprived eyes. It was only then that we remembered she had only come back from endless photo shoots in Tokyo.

And that she had once been Vale Tudo champion and was now a mother/housewife/model/personal trainer for the stars/zombie extraordinaire who could and _would_ kill us if she turned up the glare-o-meter to 'looks _can_ kill'.

"Kenpachi Arisawa-Abarai is out playing soccer and if you two would be so nice as to not visit me until I have regained that essential thing called sleep that I haven't had for sixty hours, I'd be very happy," she monotoned (in a single breath, might I add) before she slammed the door in our faces, and to be honest, I'm glad she did. Otherwise, I might be one of those ghosts that I had been seeing for the past eight years of my short life. And she only used our full names when she was _really _pissed off.

It took us a while to find Kenpachi. And when we did, he told us to go away and stop annoying him. Solely because of him, from the age of thirteen I refused any boy that asked me out, thinking that they would end up like him and be inconsistent, liking me one minute then declaring me girly, annoying and telling me to leave him alone as soon as his friends were around. KENPACHI, YOU'VE TAKEN AWAY THREE YEARS OF MY LOVE LIFE, SO TO MAKE UP FOR IT, ASK NEM-CHAN OUT ALREADY!

Sorry about that little bout of insanity. Of course, being the stubborn person that I am (I once again, blame my parents. My father won't listen to anybody once he's made up his mind, and I've heard my grandfather comment to Yuzu-nee-chan that I'm as stubborn as Rukia-chan. Okaa-san must have been really stubborn to counteract with my dad), I forced the unwilling Nemu to stay and annoy Kenpachi. Because, you know, if he says we're annoying and girly, then we'll _be_ annoying and girly.

"Fight, Ken-chaaaaan!" The scowl on his face amused me greatly as he kicked the ball towards the goal and missed. Nemu was blushing embarrassedly, nibbling on her nails and it was easy for me to take advantage. "If you win, Nem-chan will give you a biiiiiiiiiig kiss!" I had to double dodge, as flying footballs and flying Nemu Ishida's were a very dangerous combination.

I thought it was even funnier that they both shouted at me to shut up at the same time and in the same tone. I really did get tackled by Nemu after that, and Kenpachi helped her torture- I mean tickle me until I swore that I wouldn't tease them ever again.

They didn't see that I had my fingers crossed. That promise was void and neither of them knew it. And with both of them sitting on me, I didn't notice the spirit monster that had dropped from the sky until it was roaring loudly at us. I just groaned.

"Hisa-chan, what do we do?!" Nemu asked as she pushed Kenpachi off me and helped me to my feet. She'd never actually experienced one of the monsters before, just heard about them from me, but she could easily identify one if need be.

The mask was all it took. She was shocked, but not as shocked as I was when Kenpachi screamed what I had been about to tell him to do.

"Run!" He had taken us both by the arm and was dragging us away from the monster that seemed to have the idea in his head that we would be particularly tasty souls to have for lunch.

Or so it was yelling at us as we stumbled away from the playing field, away from our friends, and into the abandoned fields of overgrown grass and weeds. To be honest, I still have no idea what Kenpachi was thinking. Okay, yes, we were getting our friends out of danger. But we were putting ourselves in even _more _danger.

The atmosphere was getting heavy again. Nemu was already on her knees, breathing heavily, and Kenpachi was drenched in sweat, his legs buckling. I seemed to be the only one who could even stand properly.

The masked monster was coming towards us, taking great pleasure in our distress and inability to escape. My eyes were flying about, searching the area for any hint of _any _shinigami. They were the only ones who could save us.

"Ken-chan…don't even bother trying to stand up…we don't have enough spirit power…" He wouldn't listen. After dropping like Nemu had, he was still struggling to get up. Stubborn bastard. He should have just listened to me, or I wouldn't have gotten covered in blood.

Don't misunderstand. I didn't get hurt. No, he just had to provoke the monster. He called it a freak, telling it to leave us alone and go back to wherever the hell it came from. I had to throw myself in front of Kenpachi to stop it from hitting him.

_That's_ when I got covered in blood. From the orange and blue flashes that tore the monster into tiny pieces. I don't know what they were. But, I can tell you this. There was just one orange flash, going around the place and the blue flashes looked like arrows. Nemu doesn't even remember because she was so affected by the monster. But, it was gone. And so was the feeling of 'Oh god, I'm about to die'.

"What…was that thing?" Kenpachi asked, shakily getting to his feet, extending a hand to Nemu who just leaned on him to keep herself upright. I pursed my lips and frowned, staring at him. "What's spirit power? Hisana, answer me," he demanded, his face going red as Nemu was practically draping herself over him.

Such a faker. Okay, maybe she wasn't, but, it's fun to point out how it was obvious that he was uncomfortable with her boobs against his arm.

"I don't know what those monsters are called, but only people with spirit power can see and be affected by them. I don't know why, but spirit power in my experience is just random, few people have it, most people don't." I don't think he understood, but he acted like he did.

"Ah…what's that?" he asked, nodding to behind me. I turned to see one of the shining blue arrows stuck in the ground, pinning a small bit of paper to the earth. It must have been sent there on purpose, because it was addressed to us. Someone who knew who we were, because the message read this.

_Nemu, Kenpachi, Hisana. _

_We do not know when you gained the power to see Ghosts, Hollows and Shinigami, but please keep it to yourselves. Living people are not meant to see them, but we can understand why you three can. We had hoped you would not have to deal with it while you were alive, though. We will try to prevent any more Hollows from attacking you, but we may not always be there, and you may have to awaken your true power before your time. Please try to not do this. There are many in this town that are willing and will always try to protect you three. You are our future._

_Live safely._

_The Last Quincy, Mistress of the Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield _

After that, we became obsessed with Quincy's and Hibiscus flowers. Nothing we could find ever gave those two away, though.

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**Word Count – 2,116**

**Boring prologue chapters are over, the proper story starts in the next chapter! **

**Preview: **_Before we could even answer he closed his fan and pointed to me. "Orange hair, violet eyes, flat chest, insanely short, the classic Kurosaki/Kuchiki scowl! Kurosaki Hisana-san, it's a pleasure to meet you!" _


	4. This is the Urahara Shoten

**Ah, bloody hell. I finished writing chapter seven today, so, I thought I'd be nice and put up another chapter. :) ****Anyways…this chapter starts the proper story. Those first three chapters were just character building. :)****ON WITH THE SHOW. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, I'd know what happens in the end. Mainly if it turns out IchiRuki or IchiHime. And the latter would be **_**bad**_**. But, I don't know. Unfortunately.

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The day after my sixteenth birthday, Nemu found a stray cat. Well, it wasn't really a stray, since it had a name tag, but, it had been wandering around our school and it even leapt into our classroom through the window. Nemu was the one to catch it, so our teacher deemed it suitable for Nemu to be the one to take it home. And she seemed to be the only who could calm it down.

It attempted to scratch Kenpachi's eyes out, thought I was a scratching post, and our teacher had to go to the nurses office after it landed on her face. Turns out, she was allergic to cats. So yeah, when that cat came into our class, you can imagine what chaos ensued. And that stupid cat triggered everything.

"Hisa-chan, do you know where this address is?" Nemu asked me, holding up the cat so I could see the tag around its neck. _'I am Yoruichi. If you find me, please return me to the Urahara Shoten.'_ I'd never been to the Urahara Shoten before, but I knew that my aunt Yuzu was a regular customer.

She'd told me they had the lowest prices you could find anywhere and I asked her if she was a sales rep for them. She said she didn't need to be, they did fine without her help. And she'd given me directions to it. My father, however, told me not to go because the owner was a shady old pervert who wore a hat and clogs, so I've avoided it.

"Yeah, I know it…my aunt goes there…do you wanna go after school?" I asked as Kenpachi came over to us, scratching his head and sighing loudly. He had been the one who had taken the teacher to the nurse's office.

He was snapping the elastic bands on his braces with his tongue, a sure sign that he was annoyed. At first it had been funny to see him in pain with the metal things stuck to his teeth, but now that he's getting them off in a month, it isn't fun to tease him anymore.

"We're getting sent home. It's after lunch and there are no free teachers to cover us. Nem-chan can get that cat back where it came from sooner, and for the better in my opinion," he informed us, and the rest of the class were already filing out when we got the cat detached from his leg.

It's like it could understand that he was insulting it. He spent the whole walk to the Urahara Shoten mumbling about how cats were deranged and all of them should be shot. Nemu had to keep a tight grip on Yoruichi to stop it from attacking Kenpachi again.

"Ah. I think this is it," I stopped as Nemu and Kenpachi almost walked past the small gap in the wooden fence that separated the Urahara Shoten and the rest of the world. It was a strange little shop. It looked more like a house, stuck in between a small set of apartments and a very _large_ set of apartments.

It just reminded me of Yûko Ichihara's shop from _xxxHOLiC_. (And yes, I know that series finished before I was born. So _what_ if I'm into the oldies manga?) My best friends followed me into the courtyard when the door below the simple sign slid open and a man in clogs and a green and white striped hat bounded out, twirling and waving his cane above his head. Ah. This must be the owner.

"Yoruichi-saaaaaaan! Where on earth have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" he cried, scooping the cat out of a rather stunned Nemu's arms and he spun the cat about, cooing things like 'who's a good kitty' and 'daddy missed you'.

I don't know what my father was talking about. This guy is just as bad as he is. He only noticed us when the cat leapt out of his arms and went back towards the shop where a squeal of joy was emitted and the sound of things being knocked over reached our ears.

"Soifon-chan, don't mess up the shop!" the owner called, pulling a fan from nowhere and waving it behind him. There was a long stream of profanities in return to that. The man just grinned and flipped the fan open, hiding his stubbly face from us. "Ara? And who might you children be?"

Before we could even answer he closed his fan and pointed to me. "Orange hair, violet eyes, flat chest, insanely short, the classic Kurosaki/Kuchiki scowl! Kurosaki Hisana-san, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

My mouth dropped open. I wondered if the guy was psychic, and if he was looking for a death wish. No one, and I mean _no one_ pointed out my lack of vertical and horizontal growth unless they wanted each hair on their head plucked out one by one, their fingers broken and their teeth pulled our with a pair of pliers. "Oi-!"

"Next! Shocking red hair, brown eyes, funny eyebrows, build of a fighter even at your young age, and do I see a hint of a tattoo peeking out from that shirt collar? Ding ding ding! Arisawa-Abarai Kenpachi-kun, how are you today! Oh dear, did Yoruichi hurt you? I'll have to tell her off for that…"

A muscle under Kenpachi's eye twitched in disbelief. His mouth was hanging slightly open, only prevent from dropping further by those elastic bands. And he has a tattoo?! That was something he failed to mention! A very _big _something!

"And last but not least. Ah…the curse of the Ishida's, bad eye sight, dark hair but wavy at the same time and of course…" His fan flipped open as he eyed her up and down. "…the curves of the female Inoue's…Ishida Nemu Neliel-san, how are your parents? Doing well?"

"Hold it right there, you perverted old man! Who the hell do you think you are?!" I yelled, stepping in front of Nemu. She was obviously uncomfortable with his speculations, (even if they were accurate as hell) as we all were. Well, I was just plain pissed off. The man jumped back, chuckling slightly at me.

"Ah, how nostalgic…was it only yesterday that your mother came in here, ordering sweets, buying batteries for her phone? And your father…aha, goodness, such a long time since I saved him that rainy night…ah? Have I said too much?" he asked as he noticed my posture straightening.

All I could process was that this man knew things about my parents that no one would tell me. He was smiling behind his fan once again. Bastard. "Where _are _my manners? Would you three like to come in and have some tea?" I didn't even consult Nemu and Kenpachi. I followed that old geezer into his shop like a person in a trance.

Five minutes and some worried glances at me (from Kenpachi and Nemu) later, we were sitting on cushions around a small circular table inside the Urahara Shoten, being served tea by the young woman who had been the Soifon the man had told off earlier. She seemed to be disgruntled and happy at the same time. It confused me to no end as to how she could give off these vibes simultaneously.

"Arigato, Soifon-_chaaaaaa_- ah!" Hat-and-clogs cried out in pain as Soifon stepped on his leg purposefully. She huffed and stormed out of the room, her nose held high. She came back in to glare at the man and tell him that Yoruichi had changed.

What the hell, did they dress this cat? He just grinned at her and told her to send Yoruichi in. I would see the affects of dressing the cat with my own eyes. He turned back to me. "I am Urahara Kisuke, sexy young owner and manager of this shop,"

"Who constantly claims he can't use Bankai…" a raspy voice came from behind the sliding doors, and a beautiful dark skinned woman with long purple hair and cat like eyes appeared, and Urahara pulled a face.

"You're so mean, Yoruichi…" he mumbled behind his fan, wincing as she delivered a swift kick to his leg. I made a mental note that she would get on well with me, as well as Soifon. We both had to beat up men in the household. It was then that I realised what they meant by the cat getting changed. Honestly. Who names their cat after someone who lives with them?

Urahara grinned at us, and flapped his fan at the beautiful woman. "This here is my lovely best friend, Shihouin Yoruichi-_chaaa-_" he was kicked again and it was obvious that these woman did not like the –chan suffix, or at least, not from him. Nemu obviously thought it was time she introduced herself when Yoruichi stared at the three of us.

"Ishida Nemu."

A small smile appeared on Yoruichi's face.

"Arisawa-Abarai Kenpachi."

That smile grew into a wide grin.

"Kurosaki Hisana."

Yoruichi was rolling around on the floor laughing hysterically. "Ah…Kisuke…I never realised that it would be these three…" she managed to get out between laughing and trying to breath. "So clueless!" she exclaimed, and I stared at her, affronted. Her respect points had gone into the negatives.

A grateful distraction was provided in the form of a customer. "Urahara, get your ass out here! Those gikongan you sold me were faulty!" a high and mighty voice called, followed by a reprimand of "Taichou, don't be so rude!"

I was on my feet faster than Urahara and pulling the sliding door to stare at the man who had saved my life and the woman who had told me that I would be a great shinigami one day, both dressed in casual clothes. "Ran-nee-chan!"

The busty woman looked up at me and grinned. "My, my, children grow so _fast _in the real world!" She added in a side note to Taichou. "Maybe we should have sent you here for a couple of years." All that got her was a glare. "Are you doing well, Hisana-chan?"

Funny thing was, I never recalled telling her my name during our brief meeting on that riverbank six years ago.

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**Word Count: 1,704**

**I had fun with that chapter. :)**** -snicker- **

**Preview: **_He liked this girl enough to not say anything when she said his first name. (And may I say – what a name! 'Winter' and 'white'? Unfortunate child. He must have got picked on at school.)_


	5. A Shinigami's Job

**-cry- Izzy has a cold! She really doesn't feel good! But, she gets off for Easter on Friday, for two weeks! She'll be bored during those weeks, so, she'll write a lot and have lots and lots of chapters! **

**I shall now stop referring to myself in the third person. Happy reading! **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, I wouldn't have sobbed my heart out at the latest manga chapter because I feel that it's the beginning of the end. –nodnod-

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**

Urahara was behind me hiding behind his fan. "Ara, Hitsugaya-kun, you're so scary!" I turned to stare at him, disbelief shown on my face. Was he bipolar or something? It just seemed to anger Taichou more.

"It's Hitsugaya-_taichou_." Ahh…so after ten years I find out his name is Hitsugaya. Ran-nee-chan looked like she was burst out laughing, as her body was shaking and on her face was a wide grin. Was that a running gag or something?

"He's a former captain, and older than you, he can call you whatever he likes, Shiro-chan." Ah. New girl. She stepped into the shop behind Ran-nee-chan, fixing the small cloth that held her hair in a bun. I must say, she had guts to call this guy Shiro-chan. He seemed like the type who would kill someone for calling him that. I don't think he likes the fact that he has white hair. Hitsugaya just sighed. I turned to Ran-nee-chan.

"She's got him whipped, hasn't she?" I asked, nodding at the new person, and she burst out laughing as Hitsugaya and New Girl both went slightly pink. Urahara clapped a hand on my shoulder, sighing proudly, as Ran-nee-chan was on all fours, pounding the floor and yelling about how she couldn't take it anymore between gasping laughs.

"Kurosaki-san, you've got a good eye for things like this, don't you?" he asked me, the evil grin on his face slightly scaring me, but I couldn't help but grin evilly back. I saw this as another good opportunity. I waved my hand at him, pretending to be embarrassed.

"Ah, no, Urahara-san. You've got it all wrong…" Ran-nee-chan had stopped laughing and was looking at me curiously as the other two new arrivals were doing everything they could to avoid everyone else's gaze. I turned to look at Kenpachi and Nemu who had been sitting staring at all these new people. "I've just had lots of experience with these two." I laughed at Nemu's squeak and Kenpachi's 'SHUT UP!'

Ran-nee-chan scrambled onto the raised platform that led behind the shop, peering at my slow friends. She looked up at me and pointed to Nemu. "Is that Orihime-chan's girl?" she asked me, and I gulped.

From my position, I could see more than was necessary. I nodded anyway, and she clapped her hands together. "So cute! And then you must be Renji's kid!" she asked, pointing at Kenpachi.

Kenpachi's mouth dropped. "Did you know my dad? What was he like? Was he really cool?" he asked, and the new girl rushed to Ran-nee-chan's side, grinning widely at the sight of Kenpachi.

"You look just like him…I was in the same class as him…and he was one of my best friends!" The girl turned to a stiff Hitsugaya. "Don't worry, Tou-shi-rou!" Every syllable she said seemed like it was stabbing him with the way he winced. "You're still my bestest friend."

I had to have a little Urahara moment and chuckled behind my hand. He liked this girl enough to not say anything when she said his first name. (And may I say – what a name! 'Winter' and 'white'? Unfortunate child. He must have got picked on at school.)

"Hinamori…" Hitsugaya growled threateningly, but she seemed used to that voice as she just grinned at him. He sighed and looked up to Urahara. "As much as I'd hate to break up this lovely gathering of the children of our friends, can I talk to you about that gikongan?" Urahara leapt nimbly into his clogs and led Hitsugaya further into the house.

"Ahh…I think I'll go check on Soifon…she'll end up overworking herself…again…" Yoruichi sighed as she stood, her elegant kimono trailing behind her. Why would you wear such a thing indoors? It'd get ruined so easily. It was only in the uncomfortable silence that followed did I realise something.

"Urahara-san was a taichou?" Ran-nee-chan nodded. "_Eh_?! _He_ was a _shinigami_?!" I screeched, knocking over a display stand as I waved my hand in the direction he had gone. "And a _taichou_?!" Hinamori laughed.

"You'd be surprised at the people who become captain-level. Have you met Soifon?" she asked me, and I blinked. The girl with the braids who didn't like –chan. "Well, she used to be a taichou too." I sat down, confused.

"Wait…why have these people stopped being shinigami, then?" I asked. I was confused. Why would someone give up something that they could do to protect others? Hinamori and Ran-nee-chan frowned at me.

"You can only quit the official ranks…but you can never stop being a shinigami…" Ran-nee-chan said slowly, as if _she_ was confused by my question. "Hisana-chan, you _do _know that if you're a shinigami, you're dead, right? This is only exemplary in _very _special cases…" she trailed off, glancing at Hinamori who was staring at Kenpachi, who looked like he'd suddenly had an epiphany.

"That's how you know him…is…my dad…"

"He's a shinigami." We all turned to look at Hitsugaya, who seemed rather pleased with himself. I think he'd given Urahara an earful about that gikongan. Whatever a gikongan is. "Of the Gotei 13, Abarai Renji, 7th Squad Captain. If it weren't for him, Soul Society might have a few more buildings…"

"Hold it!" Even though they were rare, Nemu did have her moments were she demanded utmost attention. This was one of them. "This is too much information all in one go for me to handle. So, you guys are all…_dead_?" Ran-nee-chan nodded.

"Pretty much, yeah." The way she said it made it sound like it wasn't such a big deal. Correction! My mouth has hanging open, and Kenpachi was frowning, while Hinamori put a hand on Ran-nee-chan's shoulder.

"Rangiku-san…I don't think…" Hinamori trailed off as Rangiku stood up, staring towards the door and pulling a candy stick out of her bag. Hitsugaya stepped past us, and the two women who had been talking to us followed him out the door.

I jumped as each one of them doubled and left their normal clothed bodies, opting for their black kimonos, and in Hinamori and Hitsugaya's case, their white haoris. Their normal clothes doubles ran after the disappeared kimono partners. I heard the sound of a fan snapping, and Urahara reappeared, leaning heavily on his cane. Something about the cane made me want to hold it, inspect it from tip to tip and to swing it about. "Where…?"

"A shinigami's job is first and foremost, to protect. Whether it is a normal human or a ghost, themselves or their pride." Urahara's voice had a seriousness about that I didn't expect from him. Although, really, I had only met him. But, I was told I was like my father in that way. Insistently informal from the moment I meet someone. "I have a feeling that a Huge Hollow has arrived…although, the Substitute may have already taken care of it…"

"The Substitute?" Nemu's head was tilted curiously to the side, and I couldn't help but notice the look on Kenpachi's face that just screamed 'so cuuuute'. I allowed myself to smirk knowingly at them and 'kyuhuhu'.

"He's the exception that Matsumoto-san mentioned. A shinigami gave him their powers, while he was still alive. The Substitute is one of the after life's most powerful allies, even though he doesn't interact much with us anymore…he lost a lot of friends in the war he got dragged into."

I could only think of one thing, and I don't know why. Maybe I was sick of running from those monsters – Hollows – or maybe I just wanted the power to protect me and my friends, but, it was all I could think of. "Urahara-san…is there a way…for someone…a living someone to…become a shinigami…without a shinigami giving them their powers?"

Nemu's eyes widened, and Kenpachi stared at me. Urahara simply looked down at me in curiosity, flipping his fan open so all I could see were his piercing blue eyes. "There is." His answer was short and simple, but it was all I needed. I turned, got on my hands and knees and bowed my head to Hat-and-Clogs.

"Urahara-san! I'm begging you! Teach me it!"

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**Uwah! Hisana becoming a shinigami? What do you guys think?! **

**Preview: **_"Hisana-chan…" Kenpachi gulped, staring at me, wide eyed. He had the same idea I had, apparently. "Could Nemu's parents be…?" _


	6. Lack of knowledge

**Izzy's really happy with all her reviews! –feels proud- I'm getting a bit worried, though. I'm starting to think that the story is getting a bit fast paced. Do you guys want me to get to the chase in the upcoming chapters, or dwindle it out? Please let me know! **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, I wouldn't have taken a panic attack upon reading this week's chapter. –isn't even exaggerating- I couldn't breathe! –wail- THE BEGINNING OF THE END? NOOOOOO! **

Urahara knelt down and gently grabbed my chin, making me look at him straight in the eye. I was deadly serious, and he knew it. "You may turn into a Hollow," he whispered to me, and I could remember my body clamming up. "Hollow were originally earth-bound souls, either determined to not to move on, or a ghost devoured by a Hollow. Or, they are part of those wretched souls that are both Shinigami and Hollow."

I could hear Nemu gasp as her hands flew to her lips, and Kenpachi shifted his position. I could see it all in my peripheral vision, but I kept my eyes locked on Urahara. "So what?" I asked, defying him to stop me.

"So what?" Yoruichi had returned. She also knelt down to me. "Girl, don't be so presumptuous. You would not belong anywhere. Soul Society would never accept you; they outcast the Vizards, even if they helped them in the Aizen War. Hueco Mundo would not accept you; the Espada would destroy you for having strong links to the spiritual world that opposes them, even if they are under the command of Grimmjow Jeagerjaques." Her strong grip replaced Urahara's gentle one on my face. "You may be a Kurosaki, you may have those genes that convince you that you can do anything, but you know _nothing _about the spirit world."

I was afraid I would cry at the coldness of her eyes. She used words I did not recognise. I realised she was right. Soul Society, Vizards, Aizen, Hueco Mundo, Espada, Grimmjow…these were just words to me, but to Urahara and Yoruichi, and probably to the three shinigami who had left to fight, those words were words that carried great meaning, and great importance. When she roughly released my face, I could only look at the ground. "Even so-!" She did not let me speak.

"_Kurosaki Hisana_!" Her voice coaxed a squeak out of me. "I will _not_, and I repeat, _not_ let you become a Hollow." Yoruichi's back was to me as she started to pull at her obi. Kenpachi spluttered and was about to get up when the kimono fell to the ground, revealing tight black pants and an orange top. Yoruichi turned back to me. "I will make you a shinigami before you do." I could practically hear Urahara grin.

"Hisa-chan!" Nemu was frowning at me. "Don't you dare put your life in danger!" I smiled at her, while Yoruichi just looked at her, eyebrows raised. "If…if you become a shinigami, then we will too!"

"You can't." Urahara answered this for her, and Nemu's scowl deepened. "Kenpachi-kun can, but you can't." Kenpachi stood and faced Urahara, and for a moment, I saw his mother through him. They were both terrifying when angry.

"Don't even bother, Kenpachi. Kisuke is right. Ishida-san is not able to become a shinigami, because her spiritual power is formed differently than yours, or Kurosaki-san's." Yoruichi extended a hand to Nemu, but she slapped it away. "You have the spirit formation of a Quincy. It would reject any shinigami power with its own, and both those powers will be destroyed-…hadn't you better answer that?"

Nemu's phone was ringing. She pulled it out and moved out of the room, looking shaken as she answered the phone. Quincy. Quincy. The letter. The Last Quincy. Nemu's power was a Quincy power. I looked at Urahara. "Why is hers different?" I asked, and he avoided my gaze. "Answer me!"

"Quincy spiritual powers are inherited; passed down from parents to child." My throat clogged up. The Last Quincy. Mistress of the Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield. Nemu's mother's hairclips. She had told me once they were Hibiscus flowers. It couldn't be. It just couldn't.

"Hisana-chan…" Kenpachi gulped, staring at me, wide eyed. He had the same idea I had, apparently. "Could Nemu's parents be…?" He didn't finish his sentence before Nemu came back into the room, closing her phone down.

"Ah, we have to go now…that was your dad, Hisa-chan; you forgot to bring your phone today." I checked my pockets. So I had. Funny, because I thought I had put it in my blazer pocket before I had breakfast. So that was it…he stole it. Just wanting to talk to Nemu. That man needed shot.

I got to my feet, bowing to Urahara and Yoruichi. Nemu and Kenpachi did the same. "Thank you for your hospitality. I will be back to discuss this more." I raised my head, to find Yoruichi the person gone, and Yoruichi the cat back, sitting on Urahara's lap. He lifted the cat up.

"Take her with you. I think she needs out after being cooped up for a while." I stared at him. Was he mad? We spent ages trying to catch that bastard cat in our classroom, and now he wants us to take it out for a walk? He needed to take a run and jump, in my opinion.

The cat followed us all the way to Kenpachi's house, which was nearest. Kenpachi's mother was standing at the door, waiting for him, and nodded to us grimly, staring at the cat with hard eyes. It seemed to smirk back, and mewled at her and waved its tail. Kenpachi's mother held the door open for Kenpachi, and then closed it shut. We winced, sensing her foul mood.

At Nemu's, it was worse. Her mother rushed out, picked up the cat and swung it round, much to the poor cat's distress, as told by its screeches. Somehow, she recognised it. As she cooed at it, it meowed back at her, and Ishida-san nodded.

Ishida Orihime has always amazed me. She's beautiful, insanely so, much too beautiful for any man on this earth. But she behaves like a child. She's clumsy, intelligent yet naïve and she's always cheerful. I don't understand why she picked such a stick in the mud like Nemu's father, Ishida Uryuu. All he does is glint his glasses at us, barely talking. I don't think he likes me, simply because I'm a Kurosaki.

And there he was again, standing behind his wife, his spectacles glinting and his mouth a thin line. The cat meowed at him too, and he just nodded. I wondered briefly if these two people could even possibly be those that saved us two years ago. It would be too bizarre. I mean, they were acting as if they could _understand _what the cat was doing.

I set off for home alone, as the cat had quickly scampered off after escaping the Ishida residence and I made a detour. I wanted to go to the riverbank. I sat there until the sun set, thinking about our parents. Kenpachi's dad. He was a shinigami, and a captain level at that. That was confirmed. His mother…anything was possible with Arisawa Tatsuki. But, she wasn't dead. She couldn't be a shinigami.

My thoughts drifted to Nemu's parents. Yoruichi and Urahara had called her powers Quincy. My finger traced the word Quincy in the sand, and I immediately noticed that if I changed it to kanji, it spelt 'monk of destruction'. If the case were that Nemu's parents _were _Quincy, then it wouldn't surprise me about this 'monk' thing. I had counted. Fifty seven blue crosses in their house, not including the bathroom tiles. First time I was in there, I noticed them immediately.

And then there was me. I lay back on the bank, staring at the pale orange sky. My dad wasn't dead, he was very much alive and oh how I knew that. It was a definite no-no on him. But my _mother_…I didn't know much about her. My uncle, her brother, who I've met twice in my life, told me about her those times. He told me I would have looked like her if I hadn't inherited the orange mop of hair that belonged to my father. I had her eyes, though. I'd seen pictures, and there is a resemblance, I guess.

He told me I had the same spirit. It was the biggest compliment I've ever received in my entire life.

"It was Hisana-chan, wasn't it?" I looked up to see that girl I had met in the Urahara Shoten. Hinamori. She was back in her normal clothes, all traces of kimonos and haoris gone, and her two companions were nowhere to be seen. Sitting up, I nodded at her. She crouched down to me.

"How did the Hollow…killing go?" I asked, unsure of what verb to use to describe the destruction of those masked monsters. She smiled at me.

"It was already taken care of by the time we got there. The Substitute was waiting for us and told us off for being slow." She smiled at me when the corners of my mouth turned upwards in amusement. This Substitute sounded like a right old stick in the mud. "But ahh, he's so hypocritical…" I tilted my head curiously as Hinamori played with her bangs.

"I mean, he definitely wasn't one for keeping the rules when he was running around Soul Society, kicking our asses, then Hueco Mundo, kicking Hollow asses, and then in this world, kicking traitor asses…" She grinned as she saw my look of 'why yes, I _totally _know what you're talking about…not'. "I heard from Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san that they're going to teach you how to be a shinigami."

I grinned widely. "Yup! And I'm gonna be even better than this Substitute person. I'll show him, I'll become a household name amongst shinigami!" At this Hinamori laughed. It made my heart soar; it was so beautiful, like it was precious and you were blessed to simply hear it. All of my confusion from the day ebbed away, and I smiled sheepishly.

"I think you will, Hisana-chan. Who knows? You could even become a captain, like me…. Even the Substitute hasn't been called to be a captain, so, you could make that your goal. Become a Captain before the Substitute does." My face lit up.

"I will!" I held out my pinkie finger. Hinamori looked at it in confusion. "Well, I need to promise to someone, and you're the one who suggested it, so, I think you fit perfectly." Hinamori excused herself after I promised her that I would join her ranks and become a captain.

I stayed at the riverbank until it became too cold to stay out any longer. The sky was twinkling as I opened my front door, to find my dad sitting on the floor, staring at the door coldly. I'd never ever seen him look like that before, and I felt dread wash over my body as his harsh gaze drifted to meet mine. His face wasn't the idiotic one I was used to. This face was the one of an outraged father.

"You disobeyed me."

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**If you're wondering why I made Hinamori's laughing sound, well, beautiful, it's because not once in the Bleach anime do you hear her laugh, or at least, to my recollection. And believe me. I know about the Bleach anime. I wasted all our bandwidth downloading every episode. **


	7. Time and Important Guests

**Waaaaiiii! I was so happy on Sunday morning when I got all these emails telling me about the awesome reviews you awesome readers give me! I wish the people who have me on story alert and don't review would review...I want to know what you people think, too.**

**Most people seemed happy with the pace the story was going at (sorry to those who weren't!), so, I think I'll just keep it the way it's going. Anyways...early update treat for you guys...I told one of the reviewers I'd have it up before Wednesdaaay. :) **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, I wouldn't let all those poor busty woman have their tits hanging out in every which way. You really can tell that Kubo's completely straight with that...which probably ain't good news for all the yaoi fans. **

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Ihave to admit it. My instincts kicked in. I retaliated in the wrong way by setting my school bag down with a thump and glaring back at my father. Kurosaki vs. Kurosaki. Now there's something you don't see every day. Mainly because, my father never really gets angry, and I never really give him a reason to be. Except now. "_Excuse me_?" 

He stood up, bringing himself to his full height (which, was about twice of mine), and pointed to the clock hanging on the wall above the living room door to my right. "What is that?" he asked me. 

I looked at him with disdain. He was treating me like a child. Fine, if he wanted to do that, I'll act like the child he was treating me like. "A clock." I crossed my arms and made sure I was pouting. 

His left eyebrow went up. "And what does a clock do?" Oh, so he was playing too. 

"It tells time, Papa." I could see him visibly twitch. For years, I'd never called him Papa, no matter how much he begged. It was always 'old man' or 'you' or 'him' or 'psycho'. I was getting to him. 

"And what time does it say it is?" 

"Half nine, Papa." 

He exploded. 

"I know it's half bloody nine, I've been waiting for _five bloody hours_! I called Nemu at half four, and expected you home within the hour! Where the hell _where _you!" he roared. I kept my ground. 

"Oh yeah? Well _maybe_ if you hadn't nicked my phone, then _maybe_ I would have come home sooner! And for your information, it's none of your freakin' business where I go in my free time!" I snapped back. His scowl increased. 

"Nicked your phone? When I rang it this afternoon, I found it sitting on your desk, with missed calls from three days ago!" I miraculously remembered that the last time I'd actually taken my phone to school was the week prior to my birthday. Shit. He'd got me. "And actually, since I am your father and have responsibility over you until you leave this house, yes, it is my business where you go in your free time! I worry about you!" 

"_I don't need you to worry about me_!" I screeched, clenching my fists and screwing up my face. 

"_But I do, _Rukia!" 

I stared at him through my eyelashes. He was staring past me, his eyes wide and unblinking, until he seemed to snap out of his senses. "I…Hi-hisana…" He seemed to have _finally _realised his mistake. 

I ignored him, picked up my bag and went up the stairs, making sure to beat him with my bag a few times on the way. He didn't even seem to care. It made me feel better, though. I made sure to slam my door shut. And to lock it. 

I spent the rest of the night in my room, grateful that I had my own bathroom, and that my mini fridge was well stocked with staple foods, such as pocky and the like. I went to bed in a foul mood, listening to my father shout at himself from downstairs. I had a weird dream that night. 

My mother came into my room while I was asleep and just sat there, watching me. So, Freud, explain that one to me. 

-

I didn't talk to my father the next day. Or the day after that. It's not like he made an attempt either. Before I knew it, it was the weekend and I had wandered out of the house and outside the Urahara Shoten. I didn't want to go in, not without Kenpachi and Nemu, but they were both busy (on a date, I knew it. Maybe they didn't confirm it, but the reasons they gave me were suspicious and sounded like they were well rehearsed.), and I had no one else to go to. 

Urahara was waiting for me, sliding the door open and using his fan to wave me in. I was about to open my mouth to greet him, but he hushed me. "We have a few very important guests today, and we're going over some very important things." His voice was at a low whisper, and I already had the impression that Urahara was never quiet unless he was deadly serious. 

He ushered me into the back of the shop, and I suddenly felt like I wanted to faint. The spirit pressure in that room was enough to make me want to give in and drop to my knees, and I had a feeling that if Kenpachi and Nemu were here, they'd already be on the floor. And the saddest thing? There were only four people in the room, not including me, Urahara and Yoruichi. 

I shall affectionately call them Clown Dude, Braid Woman, Pinky and Russian Blue. All but Russian Blue were wearing the black kimonos with the white haoris, because he was wearing the exact same clothes, except all colours were in reverse. I had to assume that they were all captain level. Even Pinky, who looked a tad younger than me. Becoming captain level was looking more and more promising. 

Russian Blue's eyes drifted to me as I was made to sit down at the head (or bottom, which ever way you look at it) of the table, and he looked up at Urahara. "She the one?" he asked, and Urahara nodded. "Good reiatsu. And this is after the white haired kid sealing sixty percent of it?" Urahara nodded again. 

"Wait, what?" I asked, looking between Russian Blue and Urahara. Neither of them answered my question, and led me to seriously question what Russian Blue had just said. Hitsugaya _did _tell Rangiku to seal my power when we first met. But by _that much_? 

"I think we'd need to introduce ourselves to Kurosaki-san first, don't you, Urahara-san, Shihouin-san?" Urahara and Yoruichi nodded at Braid Woman's suggestion. "Very well. I am Unohana Retsu, 4th Squad Captain, pleasure to meet you," Unohana said, bowing her head to me. Well, ain't someone very polite? I bowed back, and 'nice to meet you too'ed. 

"Kurotsuchi Mayuri, 12th Squad Captain," Clown Dude said, and he smirked at Urahara who smiled serenely back. Could it be that Urahara used to be 12th Squad Captain? I preferred him over than this Kurotsuchi clown dude. He was just plain creepy. Who wore face paint in this day and age?

"Kusajishi Yachiru, 11th Squad Captain, nice ta meet ya!" Pinky half yelled in her overly high voice. Okay, this girl obviously was one of those kids that got sugar highs from simply smelling candy. I nodded at her, and looked at Russian Blue. 

"Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. Head of the Espada." These words alerted alarm bells in my head. Hueco Mundo, Espada, Hollowand Grimmjow tied in with each other. It was only then that I realised that Grimmjow had a small bit of broken white bone mask on the side of his face. 

"Hollow!" I screeched, fumbling backwards. Urahara pushed me back towards the table, where Kusajishi was giggling, Unohana had a smile on her face, Kurotsuchi looked bored and I was sure there was a vein throbbing in Grimmjow's temple. I couldn't believe it. Why would Urahara and these captains be in the presence of a Hollow, when Hollow were bad?

"They are here because you have asked us to make you into a shinigami," Urahara explained. Still didn't see why a Hollow had to be here. "Grimmjow here has power over almost all the Hollow in existence." I still didn't see what that had to do with me. Kurotsuchi got that. 

"You can't become a shinigami unless you find your power. You need to unseal your power to do that. But doing that would heavily influence those around you, and also attract many Hollow." I still didn't get it. Then just call them off, I wanted to say, but he looked like he was annoyed enough to be here without my provoking him. 

"He means that if you wanna be a shinigami, then Grimm-kitty would have to order his Hollow buddies not to try and eat you…and that could cause a mutiny, then the Hollow could go wild, try to attack Soul Society and seventeen years isn't enough time to recover after a war like the one we're recovering from," Kusajishi told me, and I understood it now. I'd be putting people in danger. A lot of people. 

"Why would Grimmjow-san bother protecting me? If I become a shinigami, I can just fight the Hollow off, right? And anyways, it's not like I've done anything for him," I suggested, and everyone in the room avoided my eyes. Shit. There was a secret right under my nose, and I was _not _liking it. 

"That…is another matter…" Unohana-san said gently, while Grimmjow scoffed. Unohana sent him a warning glance, and then moved her steady gaze to the other two captains in the room. She didn't trust them to keep this secret. Maybe I could get it out of them later. I just sighed as the awkward silence continued. 

"I say she doesn't become shinigami until she dies. The last time a living human became a shinigami, you all know what happened," Kurotsuchi voiced loudly, and my hatred for him was growing by the second. Stupid Clown faced bastard. Get some fashion sense, will you? 

"That was a completely different situation," Yoruichi spoke for the first time since I had arrived, and she looked rather agitated. "This time, a shinigami would not be lending her their powers, and that lack of power transfer basically nullifies all possibilities of history repeating itself. No one is going to kidnap one of her friends, take them to Soul Society, and I'm pretty sure that Kisuke hasn't created anything worth going to war for recently." Urahara nodded at this, and I raised an eyebrow. 

I wasn't so sure I wanted to become a shinigami anymore. It was just too confusing. 

* * *

**Poor Hisana...-patpat- Let's see who will be the first to spot that Haruhireference! -grin-Omakewith choice of theme in the next chapter for the winner! **

**Preview: **_"Three hundred and thirty six," he answered. "And Yoruichi is-" he was cut off by a sharp blow to the head, a sorely deserved gift from the dark-skinned woman. I mean, he really was asking for it. _


	8. Sick and Tired

**Ah…haven't exactly finished the chapter I'm working on, it's proving a little difficult to write, and my KH RP is draining all my inspiration…but, this is exactly why I write chapters in advance, so you guys can still get reading. :) Anyways, I didn't really like this chapter. Apart from the end. Ehe. OH. No one spotted the Haruhi reference in the last chapter. That's still going on, if you can find it Chapter 7, Time and Important Guests, I will still give the first one to guess it an omake at the end of the next chapter with a theme of their choice. Good luck! **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, I would have made this weeks chapter **_**not **_**boring. And I would also understand that shit about moving Karakura town. Wtf, did anyone get it, and if they did, can they explain it to me? **

* * *

Kurotsuchi just huffed as Yoruichi apparently proved him wrong. But it led me to wonder…what on earth happened in this Soul Society place? I made a mental note to absolutely corner Urahara on it and _make_ him tell me. But not right now, because Unohana was talking again.

"There is also the problem of teaching her all the areas of shinigami combat. I do not mean to be disrespectful, but, Urahara-san, Shihouin-san, neither of you or Soi Fon-san are exactly qualified to be teaching her the likes of kido," she said gently, as Urahara smiled.

"As blunt as ever, Unohana-taichou. It is true. However…I fear that if someone like Hinamori-san even attempted to teach Hisana-san something as low level as Byakurai, we'd have our heads blown off," Urahara replied, taking out his fan and creating a gentle breeze for himself.

I only stared. They were using words I didn't know again. "That is also a possibility. But, even The Substitute had to under go basic kido training…" Unohana made me wanna do this kido thing. If The Substitute did it, then I'm doing it.

"It was fun when he tried kido. He nearly blew up the school, and then Ken-chan tried to kill him again," Kusajishi giggled, and I stared at her. This child had a warped sense of humour. She needed serious help. Everyone just smiled at her. Wait. Hold it.

"Ken…chan?" I asked her, and she grinned at me.

"Pineapple head's kid is your friend, then!" she exclaimed and I had to stare. She had _really _weird nicknames for people. And I thought I was bad. "Yup, yup, your Ken-chan is named after my Ken-chan!" I had to look confused for her to explain more. "He was my dad! Pineapple named his kid after him because Ken-chan died on the day Ken-chan was born," she said, quite cheerfully.

As much as I was pissed off with my own father at the moment, I'd still get a bit said when thinking about my dad _dying_. And I frowned. This girl didn't look older than Kenpachi, not even by a long shot. "Wait…Kusajishi-san, what age are you?" I asked, pointing at her.

"Call me Yachiru. I'm about…hmmm…I'd say about…a hundred and sixteen. I think." I couldn't help but let my mouth drop as wide as I could. She was a _hundred years older than me?_ I turned to Urahara, who was grinning behind his fan.

"Three hundred and thirty six," he answered. "And Yoruichi is-" he was cut off by a sharp blow to the head, a sorely deserved gift from the dark-skinned woman. I mean, he really was asking for it. (You know, like Vaan from Final Fantasy – okay, enough with the random otaku talk. I'll stop.)

"Hisana, once they are dead, souls age ten times slower than normal. It's the same with souls born to two spirits as well, like me or Soifon," Yoruichi explained, and I nodded. I'm starting to think that I should bring a notebook and pen every time I visit these people. I learn too much in too small a time for my small brain to remember it all.

"Right…so…Ken-chan's dad named him after…Yachiru-san's dad? But didn't Ken-chan's dad die before Ken-chan was even born?" I asked, looking at Urahara. I heard an 'uh-oh' coming from the direction of Yachiru, and Kurotsuchi was rolling his eyes. Unohana just continued drinking her tea calmly. Grimmjow remained impassive at my speculations. Well, he could go take a run and jump for all I cared.

Once again they avoided my eyes. For _gods _sake. This was getting irritating. To hell if they were all captains. What were captains to me? _Nothing_. Something I wanted to be when I didn't know a single thing about it. Slamming my palms down on the table, I stared at them all.

"Okay, I'm sick and tired of sitting in the dark. I want to know everything. Shinigami, Hollow, Espada, Hueco Mundo, kido, captain ranks, Quincy, The Hibiscus shield. But, first and _foremost, why the hell does every shinigami I meet know who the hell I am?_" I roared, letting my inner Kurosaki take over me.

Silence met my demands. Grimmjow was picking at dirt under his nails, Yachiru was playing with her elbow length hair, Kurotsuchi was staring into space and Unohana just looked at her teacup. Yoruichi got up and left the room. I turned my stare to Urahara. He cleared his throat and looked away.

"Kurosaki-san, it is not our place to say," Unohana finally piped up, gazing at me softly. Her gentleness was just making me want to throw something.

"If it isn't your place to say, then don't mention anything to do with it!" I exclaimed. I know you're probably thinking, 'where the hell is this coming from?' but really. Think about it. All these people know me, they're talking about me, and I don't have a clue why.

"Ahh, Hisana-chan, don't be like that. We can't not mention _anything_. That would ruin the fun," Yachiru said, leaning over the table. Stupid pink haired baby. She rolled her head towards me. "And anyways, if we didn't mention anything, then you'd never want to become a shinigami. We need more people like you," she commented lightly.

For someone so hyper looking, she knew how to wrap someone around her little finger. I didn't bite, though. "What if I don't want to become a shinigami anymore?" I asked her. I'm still not eighteen, still not an adult, allowed my childish moments from time to time.

"Then I'm leaving," Grimmjow said, standing up. A small black line appeared in thin air, and then opened like sliding panels to reveal a gaping black hole of, well, nothingness. The blue haired man took one step into it, and the hole closed up behind him. I could only gape. And I thought _I _was being childish!

"Well then, if you'll excuse us," Unohana said as she rose to her feet. Kurotsuchi and Yachiru followed suit. She bent her head to Urahara who smiled serenely at her. "Thank you for your hospitality, Urahara-san," she said, and Urahara nodded.

"W-wait. Where are you guys going?" I asked, suddenly feeling like I was being given a cold shoulder. And I was right.

"Well, Hisana-san, if you have changed your mind about becoming a shinigami, then there is no need for Soul Society representatives to be here any longer. It was a pleasure meeting you," Unohana said, bowing to me as well. I instinctively bowed my head in return.

When I raised it, Kurotsuchi had a katana out, and old fashioned paper sliding doors had appeared from nowhere. Three black butterflies flitted out of them, the only things I could identify from the bright light that emerged from it.

"Bye-bye, Hisa-chan!" Yachiru called as she disappeared after Unohana and Kurotsuchi. I remained silent as the doors slid shut and faded into nonexistence. Urahara closed his fan and set it on the table.

"I said 'what if', and they leave?" I muttered to myself, playing with the hem of my skirt. "What's with that? A theoretical question and they get all pissy about it. I don't want to become like them." I continued in this fashion until Yoruichi came back into the room, grabbed my arm and dragged me to my feet.

"My god, you never stop whining, do you? Just shut up," she snapped at me, pulling me further into the shop. She only stopped in front of what looked like a trap door, and pointed at the ladder that led into the darkness. "Go down," she commanded, and the authority in her voice made my body automatically follow her instructions.

Bloody hell, that ladder was long. I felt exhausted by the time I reached the bottom. But, then I really didn't have the capacity to feel exhausted and amazed at the same time. Even though I'd gone _down _a ladder, I seemed to have gone outside. I turned to Yoruichi. "Have we gone down to the other side of the earth?"

She just stared at me. It was a reasonable question, what with all I'd seen and learnt about these people. They seemed to go against everything, including the law of nature, so, you really can't judge me.

"Uwaaaah!" I turned as Urahara came down the ladder, and Yoruichi sighed in exasperation. "What the hell is this? Who would have thought there would be such a huge space under the store!" he called loudly, and I stared at him.

"You really don't have to shout for me. I'm surprised enough already," I deadpanned. This only made him laugh loudly, waving his fan at me. "Anyway, what is this place?" I asked. We were underground. That was for certain.

"It's my playground," Urahara chirped, and I shoot him a look. My grandfather calls it the Karin Look, because apparently I look like my aunt when I do it. But, that's beside the point; it's the look I give people when I want them to stop messing around.

"It's a training area that we built." Ahh, sweet Yoruichi. I knew I could count on you to be sensible at a time like this "This is where we'll be training you," she said, and I took a step back in surprise.

"W-what? B-b-b-b-but!"

"No buts! I've long since stopped caring what Soul Society says, and that includes their opinion on you!" she barked, contradicting her feline-like appearance. "You're becoming a shinigami. Kisuke!"

I managed to turn around in time to see Urahara's cane collide with my forehead.

* * *

**Next chapter is too good to give you previews for. –grin- In the immortal words of that fox faced bastard, bye bye! –skips off- **


	9. Blue Fire and Omake

**This week's chapter was amazing. (**_**SPOILERS) **_**SHINJI, A FREAKING CAPTAIN? AND AIZEN'S CAPTAIN. OMFG. KYAAAA. AND HIS HAIR IS SO LONG! Hiyori was ADORABLE in a shinigami uniform! Ukitake was SEXY with his hair tied back. (Page 12; did anyone else notice how SHORT Nanao's skirt was? Pigtails are cute on her. And FOREPLAY, HAHAHA). But, the pinnacle of it was…the cuteness of Urahara. I about died when I saw it. Oh, and, Aizen is still a bastard. :D **

**EEEEEEEK. FINALLY FINISHED WRITING CHAPTER 11! –dies- It was so hard! And I finished it once I hit the fifth page mark, because god knows I've spent too long on it. So, here's chapter nine for you guys! **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, this week's chapter wouldn't have been so exciting. **

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I tumbled back a few feet, and lay on the ground. A strong hand gripped my arm and lifted me up. I didn't want to, and my arms were too heavy to retaliate. Then I caught sight of my body. I screamed. "W-what the hell is going on?!" I screamed at Urahara, tugging at the chain protruding from the centre of my chest, connecting…well, me and my body that was lying on the ground, lifeless.

"You're in soul form. I just forced your soul from your body." I replied by dropping to my knees. "Is it hard to breathe?" he asked me. I shook my head. "Ahh, good. I see having your spirit power sealed didn't affect your Soul Sleep or Chain Link." I stared at him. This guy blabbered on too much. Especially with things I didn't have a clue about.

"It's hard to move, though," I told him, attempting to get to my feet. He nodded and brought out his cane. I watched with wide eyes as he grabbed the handle, and muttered something that I couldn't hear. The handle slid up, and revealed a beautiful katana. He raised it, and I cried out when I realised he was about to cut the chain connecting my body to me.

My scream was pointless.

"Blue Fire, Crash Down!"

A flash of blue, not unlike the blue arrows I had seen when I was fourteen, soared towards Urahara, and he quickly deflected it with his sword. I swear I saw it flash red. Sighing, he pointed towards my body. "Get back in it, Hisana-san," he told me, and I ran as quickly as I could towards my body, which was proving difficult. Somehow slipping back to my normal, opaque self, I opened my eyes and sat up.

Urahara was pulling his striped hat down low over his face, hiding a grim expression. He looked at me, and then looked to Yoruichi, who raised her eyebrows at him, shrugging. "You knew we'd have to do this at some point," she commented lightly. Urahara sighed again.

"But I thought Hinamori-san would keep quiet about it at least for a little while," he said, and I detected a slight whining tone. I was slightly confused. A few seconds ago, they didn't care what Soul Society said about me becoming a shinigami. Now they were stopping because of this blue flash?

"Urahara, you promised!"

That voice again. It made Urahara sigh for the third time. That sighing was getting on my nerves. "Sorry, Hisana-san," he apologised. I didn't understand why. "You're not becoming a shinigami today," he explained, and I jumped to my feet.

"Why the hell not?!" I exclaimed, my trademark scowl on my face. Urahara pointed, and I had to fall to the ground in shock.

"That's why the hell not," Urahara answered for me as the shinigami with the pure white sword pointed it at him. The band around the shinigami's left arm slipped off, the insignia showing a flower below a number thirteen. "She's old enough to decide for herself," Urahara told the shinigami.

"A promise is a promise. You told me that you wouldn't teach my daughter to become a shinigami before she died!" Urahara remained silent as the petite shinigami shouted at him. I could only stare. "Urahara, I don't care if she asked you or not. I will _not _let her become endangered like this!"

Yoruichi stepped forward, placing a hand on my shoulder. "She's in enough danger as it is, what with her spirit power being so huge." The shinigami stared at Yoruichi defiantly. A lump had been gathering in my throat, but I swallowed it down, and found my voice.

"I want to be able to protect myself." The shinigami looked at me; her katana dropping, the pure white ribbon floating around her. I was blinking back tears, and trying to stop my chin from trembling. "Something you never did, Okaa-san," I mumbled, clenching my eyes tight shut as the tears seeped through. I felt Yoruichi's grip tighten comfortably.

"Hisana, go home." My eyes snapped open to look at the woman whose portrait I saw every day. She wasn't looking at me. My jaw clenched, and I felt anger bubble up inside me. Who the _hell _did she think she was?

"No."

"Go. Home."

"I won't."

"I don't care what kind of stinking argument you and your father are having at the moment, _you are going home right now_!" My stubbornness blazed as she ordered me for the third time. It was my parents fault; they were both stubborn, my stubbornness would be double of one of theirs.

"_You have no right to order me about when you left me! _You're a _shinigami_! You could have visited anytime you want!" I screeched, the tears running freely. Yoruichi's hand had left my shoulder. My nails dug into my palm. "But you didn't, _so I'm staying here and becoming a shinigami, and you can't do anything about it!" _

My words echoed throughout the uninhabited space as I stared defiantly at the woman who was supposed to be my mother. Urahara stepped between the two of us, his hat tipped down. He wasn't looking at me or her.

"Kuchiki-san, you heard your daughter. She wants to become a shinigami, no matter what. What are you going to do?" Urahara asked, pointing his cane at my mother. Her scowl deepened. It was unusual to me, because all pictures I had seen of her were of her smiling broadly, with my father. He was the one with the scowl on his face. It was like their roles had been reversed.

"Hisana…" I looked to my feet as she spoke my name. "Don't do this." I looked at her through my tear clouded eyelashes to find her expression changed from a scowl to one of pleading. "Being a shinigami…you don't know the first thing about it. You're either born into it, or you do it to survive in the afterlife. Either way…" She choked on her words here. "Either way, all shinigami have no other option!"

"The Substitute was a living person when he became a shinigami! I know about him! A shinigami gave him their powers right?" I looked to Urahara for confirmation. He slowly nodded once. "He wasn't born into it, and he wasn't dead, so he couldn't have needed it to survive in the afterlife! There, that's an exemption from your stupid 'no other option' idea. I can be the second exception," I sneered, and my mother looked at me sadly.

"Hisana, his life was in danger too. Or rather, his family's life was in danger. His siblings had already been attacked by a Hollow, and he was trying to protect them. The reason he got the shinigami's powers was because the shinigami almost died trying to protect them, and it was the only way for them all to live," Yoruichi explained. Well, shit. There goes my chance for becoming a shinigami out the window. My life wasn't in danger, far from it.

And I doubt that with all these shinigami surrounding where I live, including the mysterious Quincy and Hibiscus Mistress, I'd ever be in enough danger for some shinigami to randomly give me their powers. Wait. This Substitute person was pretty famous, right? So there's _gotta _be a lot of rumours surrounding him, right? Who knows _exactly _how he got the powers? Only him and the shinigami who gave them to him, right?

"How do you guys even know that? It could be just some made up rumour," I challenged, and my mother sighed in anger.

"Sometimes, I wish I had fought them more to let them inform you of the shinigami world!" she exclaimed, and I frowned at her. "We know that because _I _was the one who gave the idiot his bloody powers in the first place!"

Well, double shit. I was _definitely _not becoming a shinigami now.

"Yoruichi-sama…" I looked up to see that Soifon girl at the bottom of the ladder, bowing her head. "We have customers," she announced. Yoruichi looked to Urahara, who looked to my mother, who sighed and nodded. And then stiffened. Urahara's mood seemed to change as he chuckled behind his fan.

I was just confused as to why it had gone from extremely tense to a laughable matter. I wanted to know who exactly the Substitute was. My mother had met him. Hell, she was the reason that he became a shinigami, and he was the reason I _wanted _to become a shinigami. _Why does no one pay any attention to the questions that I want answered? _It's really annoying!

Before I even realised, I was the only one left in the training area, with Urahara calling my name from the top of the ladder. Getting lost in my thoughts is something I need to grow out of. But even still, I was spacing out when I reached the top of the ladder. Soifon was the one waiting at the top.

"You're better off staying in here," she told me as my hand fell on the door handle. I turned to her in confusion. "There are things you are better off not knowing, and you're better off forgetting everything you've learnt."

"What…?" I stared at her with wide eyes. She seemed like one of the quiet ones, but her voice was loud and powerful. It commanded all of my attention. "What do you mean by that?"

"If you go out there now, you'll learn that your whole life was not what it was, things about yourself that you never knew, and possibly things that you don't want to know. You will learn them sooner or later, but, if I were you and were given the option, I'd rather find out later."

"Soifon-san…I don't understand what you…"

"I don't expect you to." With that, she left me in the room with the trap door that led to what looked like another world. I stood there for a few seconds. Learning things about myself…? That's what I've always wanted to do. I want to know more about my mother.

So I stepped out of the room. And immediately wanted to go back in time and listen to Soifon's advice again and _bloody well take it_. Talking to my suddenly timid mother was my uncle Byakuya. Fully dressed in shinigami garb. With a captains haori. This wasn't the least of it.

Aunt Yuzu, browsing through the sweets, chatting to Yoruichi like nothing was wrong. Except, she was recommending pocky and the like to my mother. Which meant that she could see her. Which meant that my Aunt Yuzu, the crazy kindergarten teacher who wouldn't hurt a fly, had spirit power.

And that wasn't the worst of it.

"Urahara, I told you yesterday, I would kill you if you so much as accidentally brushed her with that cane of yours." My father, in all his orange haired glory, talking to Urahara. In a black kimono. Sporting a giant bandaged kitchen knife on his back. And it dawned on me.

He was The Substitute.

* * *

**OMFG. IT'S THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. :O But haha, raging for you guys, it's not gonna end up like you think. –snicker- Oh, right, my Haruhi reference competition. ****Subliminal Shadows was the winner, congrats! And their theme was OoCness, but, that was oh-so-vague, so, my dear, I'm sorry if it's not to your liking! –bows- **

"Rukia."

"What?"

"Ru-ki­-a."

"_What?_"

"_Ru-ki-a._"

"For god's sake, Ichigo, _what_?! If you can't see, I'm trying to do some work here!"

"Yeah, but…I'm _bored_…"

"Read my lips. _I don't care_. Now run along and go hide from Zaraki, will you?"

"Noooooo…that's no fuuuuuun…"

"…Ichigo, you stink of alcohol. Are you drunk?"

"Ehe, maaaaaybe…"

"Oh for – get off me."

"Ehe, no. Your knees are comfy."

"…I knew I shouldn't have sent you out with Matsumoto and Hisagi…"

"…dude, your chest is completely fla-OW!"

"Definitely shouldn't have sent you out with Matsumoto."

"Rukia, why does my nose hurt?"

"Because I just punched you."

"Why?"

"Because you're a very bad drunk."

"Oh…you know, close up, you're _very _pretty."

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or as an insult."

"It's a compliment, pretty lady."

"Ichigo, just shut up and get your head off my lap."

"Nooooo…I don't want to…"

"Ichigo…"

"Rukiaaaaaa…why'd you sigh like that?"

"Because you're an idiot."

"But you love meeeeee…"

"Who ever told you that?"

"Uh…I can't remember….someone with dark hair…"

"We know a lot of people with dark hair."

"Well, I dunno. But they said that I loved you too…"

"And you believed them."

"No, I don't need to, stupid."

"What?"

"I already know it."

**Ehnnn…somehow, it turned into a drabble. OO **


	10. Daughter of the Substitute

**Again. Spoilers. OMFG, YES! I LOVE SHORT HAIRED YORUICHI, SHE'S JUST SO CUTE WITH IT LIKE THAT! AND URAHARA IS STILL ADORABLE WITHOUT HIS SILLY BUCKET HAT! –squee- I LOVE HIM, I LOVE HER, I LOVE KUBO! (Okay, that's a lie, I hate his guts for making me so obsessed but for now I love him. D) End spoiler. (And yes, I realised on Saturday that it was not Nanao but Lisa. ¬.¬ I'm not always that stupid.) **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, I wouldn't have begged my teachers to let me go into the Tokyo Toys shop when we were in London. And almost cried when they didn't let me go. **

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I tried to talk. I really did. Except, it was like something had simply cut off my throat. All I could manage was 'uhh'. And even that was difficult. No one even seemed to notice me. Aunt Yuzu was pulling kola kubes out of their container and handing them to my mother, who smiled gratefully at her. Uncle Byakuya had moved onto Yoruichi now, who seemed to be teasing him. Urahara and my father…well.

"Ah, Kurosaki-san, I don't think that would be possible. You killing me, of course," Urahara smiled widely. He was patronising my father. And my father wasn't liking it. I hadn't seen him scowl this much…well…since, ever. I realised that maybe…the smiling, joking, idiotic man that I knew to be my father…wasn't truly him

"Urahara, I haven't had a good fight since the last time Grimmjow decided it would be fun to lure me out with a hundred Hollow, which if you remember, was six years ago," my father replied, his jaw set. Wait. Grimmjow.

_He'd just left here like, fifteen minutes ago_! I felt like tearing my hair out. That was why he'd have to get the Hollow to not attack me. I was the Substitute's daughter_. _That's why Soul Society needed to approve of my becoming a shinigami. _SUBSTITUTE'S. FREAKING. DAUGHTER. _

I crouched down to the floor, covering my head with my hands. This was too much to handle. Shinigami mother stopping me from becoming a shinigami. Aunt who can see spirits, and may possibly be a shinigami. Uncle who I _thought _was alive, but obviously isn't and is captain level shinigami. Father. God. Don't even start me. The Substitute, not actually a cheerful idiot, looks like he wants to kill a shop keeper – NO.

I HATE SHINIGAMI! I only realised I screamed this _out loud _when the inhabitants of the shop went quiet and looked at me. I could hear a loud sigh as I clenched my eyes shut in embarrassment.

"Hisana, go home." There it was. Except, this time, it wasn't my mother, it was my uncle. Well, you know what? I didn't feel like going home. Actually, I didn't much feel like staying in the Urahara Shoten either. But, I didn't feel like moving. So I stayed where I was, crouching in a little ball with my hands covering my head.

"Hisana-" Ah, so I wasn't completely invisible to my father after all. But, I didn't let him speak.

"Oh, fuck off," I muttered dryly, slowly rising to my feet. Time to move. "I'm sick of this. I'm going to Nemu's," I told him. He looked surprised to having been sworn at. I usually never swear quite as boldly as that, not even when in pain. I brushed past him, keeping my eyes on the floor. I did catch Yoruichi's look of amusement, though.

Slipping on my shoes at the entrance to the shop, I managed to catch Urahara's whisper of "We'll do this some other time." I looked up at him in shock, and slowly nodded. He smiled at me, and waved his fan. "Iterashai"

I didn't look back, even though I could hear my mother calling my name. I didn't even look back when I heard a loud crash and "Ahhh, Kurosaki-san, you're ruining the shop!", "Does it look like I care, Sandal-hat?!", "Ichi-nii, be careful!", "Ichigo, stop it, you idiot!", and "Kurosaki Ichigo, you really are a fool."

I went to the riverbank again. Maybe some random shinigami would come and…and what? Give me their powers? Not happening. Kidnap me? That would be funny. I wonder how much my parents would pay to see me home safe and sound.

"Hisa-chan?" I turned to see Nemu and Kenpachi standing on the roadside. I looked them up and down. Casually dressy. Nemu was wearing a skirt. She hates skirts. Kenpachi was wearing a button down shirt. And nice shoes. Not the normal high tops he usually wears. Shoes. Proper shoes. Despite everything, I simply had to smirk.

"Now…where were you two when I needed you today, huh?" I asked accusingly, despite having a wide grin on my face. Their blushes and awkwardness answered everything. "Nem-chan, you told me you were shopping with your cousin…now that I think about it, both your parents are only children…am I right?" She stuttered. "And Ken-chan, going to Tokyo to watch a soccer match with your mother?" He looked away and cleared his throat.

I turned my back on them and flopped down onto the grass, staring at the late afternoon sky. "Ahhh, my two best friends, dating and not even telling me. Stab in the back, that is," I teased, and earned a whimper from Nemu. I grinned even wider, but it quickly fell. "You're almost worse than my parents…stupid shinigami…" I muttered quietly under my breath, not intending for it to be heard.

It was heard. I heard Nemu gasp, and a sound of confusion come from Kenpachi. They joined me in sitting down on the grass. "Hisana…?" I didn't dare look either of them in the eye.

"Shinigami. Both of them. And I have a feeling the shinigami we met know that…" That was why Hinamori laughed at me saying I would become a household name to shinigami. I probably already was.

"But Hisa-chan…your dad…isn't dead…" Nemu said. She was confused; I could hear it in her voice. Join the club, dear. We have t-shirts, cookies, hot guys, you name it. I sighed.

"Yes, Nemu. I know he's not dead." Kenpachi got it first.

"He's the Substitute?!" he exclaimed, and I nodded. I saw one of Nemu's hand fly to her mouth. The other gripped my left hand tightly. That was what set me off. "Hisana-chan…" Kenpachi mumbled my name as the tears started flowing down my cheeks. I hiccoughed pathetically as they pulled me into a sitting position.

I attempted to throw them off me, but Nemu roughly pulled me into a tight embrace, while Kenpachi's hands rubbed my shoulders comfortingly. Damn my friends. Damn them and their ability to make my emotions bubble over the edge when it wouldn't when it would have been most effective.

They moved me when I had progressed from nervous break down to a simple snivelling wreck. I was exhausted, so I rode piggy back on Kenpachi, leaving a damp patch on his shoulder as Nemu held my hand.

Nemu's mother didn't look surprised. In fact, she was waiting out in the street to take me from Kenpachi. She's surprisingly strong, even if I'm practically a dwarf who has the appetite of a bird. She carried me inside as Kenpachi said goodbye to Nemu (oh how I wanted to see that! Damn my parents! Nemu, prepare to be probed for the tiny details later!), and into the spare room that I had often used before during sleepovers. I wish I had a mother like Ishida Orihime. She was kind, she was beautiful, she was always there and she was _alive_. And not a shinigami.

"How did you know…?" I asked her as she set me on the bed. She smiled at me, handing me a box of tissues. My nose was running, my eyes were puffy and cheeks were still damp. Attractive. Hell yeah.

"I got a call from a certain someone to be expecting you in a bad state…but I didn't realise you'd go back to Urahara-san so soon…" I looked at her in surprise. That was even more cryptic than you would think. It could have been anyone who was at the Urahara Shoten during my outburst.

"How did you know I'd gone to him in the first place, Ishida-san?" I asked. She grinned behind her hand.

"Would you believe me if I said a little kitten had told me?" I could only blink tearfully at her. Was she talking about Yoruichi the cat? She giggled when I 'huh?'ed. Wait a second.

"Ishida-san…how do you know Urahara-san?" I watched her as she walked towards the door and grinned at me. No way. She was not going to do like every adult surrounding Urahara did –

"That's classified information," she giggled. She did it. She kept a secret from me, just like the rest of them. Oh, Ishida Orihime, I thought I could count on you to not keep what you knew from me, and in such a Haruhiist way. Just because she looked like – wait, why am I blabbering? "There are some of my old clothes in the wardrobe; you can get changed if you want." She left after that.

As if anything of hers, old or new would fit me. I don't think she realised she was almost twice my height…and my chest and hips…well, let's not go there. I wanted to change anyway, and if it was baggy, oh well. Sliding the wardrobe door open, I sifted through the clothes.

Oh, she had such awful taste when she was younger. Didn't she have anything black? I felt like wearing black. Wiping my face on the back of my hand, I realised I was still crying. God. Yes, I was upset, but to be completely honest - I wasn't quite sure what the main cause was. Shock, probably. Shock of learning too much. Shock of learning things that made me realise that basically my whole life, I'd been lied to. Well, I dunno much about shock…it can do lots of things to people, right?

I froze as I came across a shocking white number. It looked in pristine condition. Pulling it out of the wardrobe, I realised that there was another on the hanger, underneath the white outfit. Pulling the outfits apart and laying them on the bed, I stared at them in shock.

Black kimono, black hakama, white kosode and white obi sash. That was the outfit underneath. Put it together…a shinigami uniform. But that wasn't what stunned me most. The white clothes were just an inversed version of the black clothes, with a long white jacket over them. But I recognised the style. I'd only seen it earlier that day. On Grimmjow, the one who ruled the Hollow.

"Ariya? I guess I should have hidden them better…" I looked up, stunned, to find Nemu's mother, smiling knowingly at me. She wanted me to find them?

**I feel like having another omake competition. I enjoyed that other one. So...I got's a random question for yous! The first one to answer gets an omake with a theme of their choice as the prize! 8D**

**Question: Leona Lewis is currently number one in the US music charts with her hit, Bleeding Love. But for how long did that song stay number one in the _UK_ charts in 2007? (Almost too long. Got really sickening after a while. Anyways, if you don't know, you can cheat with Wikipedia.)**


	11. Time for the Truth and omakes

**This weeks chapter was SUPER AWESOME. Once again I fell in love with Yoruichi. God damn, she's just so FRICKIN' GORGEOUS. -tears hair out- I WANT TO BE HER. But...this weeks episode. Okay. Ranting time. I wait three weeks for Episode 166. And all I get is sparkles, violins, blood splashing prettily. And dancing. Grimm-kitty just pirouetting all over the place. He is not a ballerina, he is a panther, so he should stop acting like one and start acting like the primal animal he is. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE BLEACH ANIME? WHERE DID THE AWESOMENESS GO? See, this is where I think that Ichigo started to MAJORLY suck. He started sucking at the start of the arrancar arc, and once he hit Hueco Mundo he just went downhill from there. And that is why Rukia and Shiro-chan beat him in the popularity polls. Because they're smart and kickasstastic. And can defeat Espada. I mean, look at Rukia. She's not a seated officer (okay, she COULD BE, but she's NOT), she doesn't have bankai (that we know of) and she is most DEFINITELY NOT a Vizard. But did she defeat an Espada that had the appearance of a man she used to love? YES. THERE, ICHIGO, YOU COMPLETELY SUCK. -stalks off to tantrum some more- By the way, you guys are getting the abridged version of this rant. It's even bigger on my DeviantArt account. And my poor mother got the whole of it yesterday. She puts up with so much, that poor woman. -pats-**

**Anyways. Disclaimer time: If I owned Bleach, this chapter would not have been made of complete and utter PHAIL. **

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"Huh?" She just laughed at my response. Softly touching the shinigami outfit, she held up the kimono and sighed at it. I could only stare at her. What the hell was going on?

"Ah, this is so nostalgic. You know, I stole this from an army officer, when I went to a different country to help save my friends life!" I blinked at her. Army officer…by that, she meant shinigami…right? "I was so reckless back then!" She laughed, confusing me even more. What was this?

"Oh yeah…Ichigowas the one who came up with the whole idea…after all, he absolutely had to go save Rukia-san…" she said to herself. HOLD IT. WHAAAT? "He owed her, after all…she did givehim the power to save the lives of his family," Ishida pondered. Somehow…I hadn't given that part thought. What had Yoruichi said this afternoon?

A shinigami lent someone their powers…that someone had a friend kidnapped…taken to Soul Society…and something else…That someone was my father. No doubt about it. That shinigami was my mother. She'd said it herself. But she was also the one who got kidnapped? Soul Society. It was the place where souls went to after they were gone, that's what I had assumed. But how would Ishida Orihime get there, if she wasn't even dead?

"And then we saved her!" Nemu's mother was still talking to herself, but revealing things to me. Folding the shinigami uniform, she knelt before the bed. She played with the folds of the white uniform absentmindedly. "But then Aizen took her from Abarai-kun…" Aizen…The Aizen war! Abarai…Kenpachi's father…? "And hurt both him and Ichigo…while we couldn't do anything…but then the shinigamihelped us save her from him, even though they were going to kill her before, for giving Ichigo her powers…"

I took a step back and tripped over my own shoe. "Ah! Hisana-chan, are you okay?!" I was staring blankly ahead of me as I was fussed over.

"Ishida-san…" Nemu's mother blinked as I deadpanned her name. "Please, don't mess with me anymore. Just be that little bit different and tell me the truth. Please." I looked her in the eye, begging. She broke my gaze first.

"I'll get into trouble…I've told you too much already…" she mumbled, and I frowned.

"You went against the shinigami! Thirteen Squads, right? That's how many there are, right? Ishida-san, you've done it once, I'm sure you can do it again!" She shook her head furiously, her long auburn hair whipping her face.

"Not with them! They would want you to know…in fact, they did…but it was us…we didn't want our children knowing the horror we had gone through when we were still children ourselves…" she whispered, and I jumped as the door opened and Nemu's father stood in the doorway.

"Orihime, that's enough," he told her quietly, and his wife nodded mutely. Oh, _come on_. What is with this? Are people gonna tell me little tiny snippets of the story and leave me to put the pieces together myself? I really _should_start bringing a notebook with me everywhere. Start a timeline and stuff.

"Kurosaki-chan, are you okay?" I looked up to see Nemu's father extending his hand to me. I took it hesitantly, and got to my feet, nodding affirmative. "Come down to the kitchen. It's time that we told you everything." At that moment in time, I wished I could swap places with Nemu. _Why couldn't this guy be my dad, instead of my stinking shinigami father? _

I followed them into the kitchen (twenty six blue tiles along the kitchen counter), and I looked around. This was Nemu's house, so where was she? I wanted at least her beside me when I heard this. Screw Kenpachi, he's an idiot; he'd need told fifteen times before he got it anyway.

Ahh, this was really sad. _My _stupid shinigami parents should be telling me this. Not some guy who was obsessed with crosses and his wife who were my best friend's parents. I needed Nemu to be there, make me feel better about this, you know?

"Ah, Okaa-san, I got it, I got it!" There she was! She was bouncing into the kitchen, throwing her arms around her mother's neck and squealing with happiness. I just stood beside her father awkwardly. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and glinted them. How the hell does he know where the light shines to get them to do that?

"Got what, Nemu?" I asked. Sure, I was curious about the story of my parents, but if I didn't ask now, then I'd probably forget about Nemu. She turned and grinned at me, before fishing something out of the bag that was still slung on her shoulder. I got a face full of glossy magazine cover. Taking it from her, I raised an eyebrow. It was just a popular girly magazine, Vivi. I wasn't a regular reader, only bought it when the cover looked interesting.

"They told me that I'd have to wear contacts from now on, but, as of today, I'm officially a model for Vivi!" she half screamed in my ear. I could practically feel the disapproval radiating from her father. He obviously was as clueless about this as I was. Wait. Ah, hell no.

This was why she was dressed up. Who's mother had done a photo shoot with Vivi two months ago? That's right, Kenpachi's. He'd mentioned it, complaining about how boring it was, sitting around, and talking to all the make up artists and clothing designers, getting to know their boring life stories to pass the time. I never knew that he'd actually put that to use. Or that Nemu was actually interested in becoming a model. So, no dating? Well, that just made my already shittastic day even more shittastic.

"Hisa-chan…? I know I should have waited a little while before telling you, considering…" she trailed off and glanced at her parents. Oh, yeah, she didn't know just yet. "Considering what you found out today." I shook my head.

"No, I'm really happy for you. Really," I said, as she raised a disbelieving eyebrow at me. Oh god. Her mother was looking at me. So was her father. Did they know that Nemu knew? It was probable. But they wanted _me _to tell her that _they_ knew? Oh Christ, how was I gonna do this? "The thing is…Nemu…well…you see…"

"That won't be necessary, Kurosaki-chan." I heaved a loud sigh of relief as Nemu's father stepped forward. Nemu looked at him in confusion. "We should be the ones to explain." Nemu's mother nodded, and guided her daughter to one of the kitchen table seats.

"Otou-san…? What's going on…? Hisa-chan?" I shook my head at her, sitting on a stool beside the kitchen counter. I knew I'd fidget on a chair too much. I looked to her father, who had sat down as well. Her mother stayed standing, holding her arms. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"

"Eighteen years ago, a truck crashed into the Kurosaki family clinic in the middle of the night. No one was hurt, and not one member of the family had woken up and heard the truck." I blinked at Nemu's father. A truck crashed into my granddad's clinic and no one woke up? Well, that was possible, they were all insane. Insanity might have affected their hearing. Or they were really deep sleepers.

"The only one who was confused about this story was Kurosaki Ichigo." Oh, here we go. Story might start to get interesting now. "Because he knew for a fact that the damages to his house were not cause by a truck, but by a Hollow." Cue gasp from Nemu's direction. She stood up.

"H-h-how do you know?!" she asked frantically, like a child being told you know they stole the cookies. The look on Ishida Uryuu's face was one that told his daughter to sit down and shut the hell up.

"And he knew it was a Hollow, because that night, a girl he'd never met had thrown herself in front of it to savehis life, and told him the only way to defeat it and save the lives of his oblivious family was by taking her powers and becoming a shinigami substitute." I wanted to tell him to hurry up, I already _knew that_. Wait. This was eighteen years ago. My mother…was a shinigami before…I was born. Ewww! My dad did it with a dead woman? That's just…sick!

"After Kurosaki became a substitute, his spirit power was unleashed, and unknowingly, his power began to affect his friends, who would have had spirit power when they died, but because of him, their powers were awakened due to him being in soul form close to them."

Ishida Orihime took up the story. "Gradually, there ended up being six of us who could use their spirit power, but at the time, only two of us could." I had to interrupt her here.

"It was you two, right?"

She shook her head. "I was one of them, but the other…Sado-kun…was his name." Somehow, I got the feeling that this Sado-kun was dead. Well, if he had spirit power, he must be a shinigami, right? She needn't be so hesitant about talking to him, if she had spirit power and could see shinigami. But, finding out her mother also had spirit power had thrown Nemu. She was looking very pale, but she didn't say a word.

"Shortly after Sado-kun and I had discovered our powers, Rukia-san's brother, your uncle, and Abarai-kun, Kenpachi's father, they came to take Rukia back to the spirit world, because a shinigami giving a human their powers is a very serious crime."

"And Kurosaki, being the stubborn bastard that he is, wouldn't let them take her until they thought they'd killed him." I blinked. Wow. This explained all the glares they gave each other when Uncle Byakuya visits. But dude, if I had a sister who was in trouble, I'd freaking _hide her_. And Kenpachi's dad almost killed mine? I don't know if that's a bad thing or a good thing anymore. The almost part.

"Uryuu! Don't be so rude!" I had to smile. No, he was right. My father is a stubborn bastard. "Anyway, the one who saved Ichigo was Urahara-san." That made sense. "And he trained Ichigo until Ichigo's own shinigami powers awakened, while Yoruichi trained me and Sado-kun. Someone was too proud to train with us, so, they trained all by themselves," Orihime sniffed indignantly, her gaze drifting to her husband. I looked to him for an explanation. Nemu was still very quiet.

"Your powers were both very different than mine. You know that full well I had to stand for a week doing nothing but firing arrows for training so I could fully master the Sanrei glove." At my look of confusion, he sighed. "It's a Quincy item." I knew it. That was why Nemu couldn't become a shinigami, that's why she had Quincy powers. Nemu still didn't say anything. She was turning green, in my opinion.

"Anyway, Ichigo, Sado, Yoruichi and us two went to Soul Society, the place where spirits go once they've moved on. We infiltrated the Seireitei, and Ichigo fought a lot of people, and eventually he fought his way to the place where Rukia-san was to be killed. When he got there, he found that Abarai-kun was on his side and he fought Kuchiki-san again while Abarai-kunbetrayed his captain at the time to save Rukia-san." Aha. I said it before, didn't I? I was the best out of me, Kenpachi and Nemu, because everyone wanted my parents. Insert boastful smirk here.

"Did he beat Uncle Byakuya?" Nemu's mother nodded. I smirked. "Bet that pissed him off real nice…" I looked at Nemu's father as he snorted with amusement. I had the grace to blush in embarrassment. My gaze drifted to Nemu, who was silent. I was starting to worry.

She kept staring into space, and I felt like it was only a matter of time before she was about to blow.

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**I absolutely DETEST this chapter. It took me two weeks to try and write it and I still hate the end result. So, that's part of the reason I put the omake contest in the last chapter. There were two winners, Hearii, who requested an Espada meeting omake, and cityangelz, who requested to see the date between Nemu and Kenpachi. Now that it's out that they're not dating just yet, I'm giving her a small Nemachi moment during the interview! **

**Omake One (SPOT THE CAPSLOCK BLEACH REFERENCE FROM UKELALA!)**

"He shouldn't call these stupid meetings if the bastard is going to be late." Grimmjow growled under his breath. Where was the tea loving psycho when he called you to sit with these idiots?

"Shut your mouth about Aizen-sama, or I'll kill you, koneko-chan," Nnoitora snapped, picking between his teeth with a long index finger nail. He was sure there was something stuck in there.

"Both of you be quiet," Ulquiorra deadpanned. He wanted to go play with his new toy. The woman was so distressed that it amused him to no end. And she had pretty hair. Pretty, pretty hair…shiny pretty hair…that swished so prettily…Stupid Spoonhead and Grimmjesus.

Rolling her eyes behind her large collar, Halibel regretted being the only female Espada. Where the hell did that Neliel go? She needed some serious conversation about here, instead of these moronic men butting heads with each other. And no. Szayel did not count as a woman, no matter how many stupid experiments he did that changed his hair colour. Her eyes drifted over to the puddle of drool forming on the table. Ugh. Men.

He was having such a nice dream too, when Lilinette so very rudely woke him (he still couldn't feel his testicles) and told him there was a meeting summons. He hated being an Espada. Stark jerked awake when his shin suddenly throbbed, and he glanced accusingly at the blonde haired woman beside him. Ridding the side of his face of dribble, he sat up and leant his face on his palm.

Yammy hated tea. But he drank it because Aizen-sama did. Yammy didn't like being furthest away from Aizen-sama. But he took the tea anyways.

**Well, that was awful. I'm sorry my dear Hearii! I hope it was to your liking! And to all you other readers liking too! Now for cityangelz…**

**Omake Two **

"Is she your girlfriend, Kenpachi-kun?" Hisana would have a field day if she ever teamed up with this wretched photographer. Kenpachi wanted to wring her neck. In his own time, he would do it! But not right now, and probably not for a while yet.

"Ah, it's nothing like that!" Nemu waved her hands embarrassedly, feeling her face heat up. Why was the world like Hisana? She and Kenpachi were just friends, even if she wished she could gather up the courage and confess.

"Oh, okay, just friends thing, then?" The woman asked, nodding as the pair before her made hesitant noises of confirmation. _Yeah, right_. She was a photographer. It was her job to know attraction when she saw it, and she saw it right under her nose. "Well, you _are_very beautiful, Ishida-san, but, let's see how photogenic you are," she told the nervous model wannabe, gesturing to a busy photo shoot going on behind her. "If you'd come just this way…oh, take your glasses off, please…"

Kenpachi watched as the woman made Nemu strike all different sorts of poses in all manner of different outfits. He'd never admit that he had to go outside when they put her in the gothic Lolita maid outfit. She was just too cute in frills and lace.

"Kenpachi-kun? Can you come here for a second?" He stood confusedly, hesitating as the photographer pulled him to stand beside Nemu in front of the plain white backdrop. She blinked at him as he looked to her for an explanation. She obviously didn't have a clue what was going on either.

"Right, can I ask you to act like a couple for this photo, please?" The photographer grinned as they protested profusely. "Oh come on, I need someone to pose with Nemu when we do paired photo shoots, and we have no male models here today, so Kenpachi-kun, you'll have to do." She scowled. "Stand closer together, you idiots!"

The fact that Nemu might have to act with another guy like a couple for a photo made Kenpachi's blood boil. And of course, he didn't know that Nemu didn't _want _to act like she was seeing anyone else. After the photographer had given Nemu all the shots that she had taken and sent the pair on their way, she swore to her staff that she'd never seen a pair so oblivious. Or blush as much.

**I liked this one better than the other one. I hope you liked it, cityangelz! –bows- I promise you guys that the next chapter will be better than this one! And, this is the first time I've asked you to, so…Please review! **


	12. Their Version of Events

**I SWEAR TO GOD, I'M GOING TO KILL THE BLEACH ANIME WRITERS. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT AT THE END OF 167?! SINCE WHEN DID ORIHIME AND ICHIGO HOLD HANDS? NOT ONCE, YOU IDIOTS. HE WAS ABOUT TO GET BEAT UP BY GRIMMJESUS AND THEN SPOONY WAS TO COME AND BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF HIM. TELL ME, YOU DIPSHITS, HOW ARE THEY GONNA PUT FILLERS IN WHEN THE CAPTAINS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LEVELLING UP? THIRD DIVISION CAPTAIN, FUCK THE WHAT?! YOU GUYS NEED SHOT. SHOT, I TELLS YOU, SHOT. HOW DOES KUBO PUT UP WITH THE COMPLETE AND UTTER RUTHLESS SLAUGHTER OF HIS MANGA LIKE THAT? I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. **

**On another note; BABY BYAKUYA LOOKS LIKE A GIRL. RUKIA, TO BE EXACT. LOL. AND HE'S SO…BRAZEN, I LOVE IT. It's nice to know he hasn't always had that giant cactus up his ass! Once again; Yoruichi is LOVE. And baby Ichimaru with his creepy baby grin is creepy. DAMNIT, KUBO, YOU JUST RUINED MY CHANCE OF ICHIMARU POSSIBLY BEING A GOOD GUY. My chapter is also ruined because of that. –sob- Anyway. **

**Deciding to skip a lot of stuff, just to where the anime currently is so that I don't bore you all with stuff you already know. EXCEPT THE ANIME IS JUST LIKE HAHAHA, LET'S GO TO FILLER TIEMS, LOL. _Bastards_. So, anime people, you'll be confused. Also - SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO ONLY WATCH THE ANIME, SO BEWARE. Man, this next part is so subject to being completely inaccurate because who knows when Kubo will get back to the fight.**

I had to laugh. Nemu's mother had just described my father getting his ass handed to him by those affectionately known as Grimm-kitty and Spoony. Serves him right, in my opinion. "And then Zaraki-san came and saved us from Nnoitora…and we thought we were safe, until…" She sighed in annoyance here. "I got kidnapped."

"_Again_?!" I screeched, and she nodded, almost in shame. I swear I saw a smirk tug at her husband's mouth. "Ishida-san, no offence, but did you have some sort of kidnapper magnet on you, or something?" I asked as she puffed up her cheeks childishly. Her hairclips glinted at me.

"No…Aizen just wanted to lure most of Soul Society into Hueco Mundo so that he could destroy Karakura without much hindrance. Of course, Urahara-san had already moved the town to Soul Society so that the captains could easily fight in the real world without influencing any living spirits." Damn. Urahara was one hella smart bastard- I mean, cookie.

"But Aizen left his top three Espada to battle the captains while he and his two comrades went to Soul Society, and he left me and Hueco Mundo in Ulquiorra's charge."

"That's where we went to, after Unohana-taichou healed all our wounds," Nemu's father explained, "To Orihime and Ulquiorra, and by the time most of us got there, Ichigo was already fighting with him." Well, obviously. He'd already been owned by the dude twice by that time. I'd wanna kick his ass too.

"You should have seen your mother, Hisana-chan." I blinked at the auburn haired woman, who had a small smile on her face. "She was about to hit her brother. He wouldn't let her fight with Ichigo, and I've never seen her so frantic before or since." My nails suddenly seemed very interesting.

Okay, so, yeah, my parents had been through shit. Lots of it. I was starting to feel more and more guilty about screaming at them, but I was still a little pissed about not having them tell me this. I looked up as I was momentarily blinded by Glinty-Glasses over there. Idiot. "I seem to remember you were in almost a worse state than she was, Orihime," he commented lightly, and his wife went bright red.

"Uryuu! That's not fair!" she whined, and I raised my eyebrow at his smirk. So, he wasn't bothered by the fact that his wife once liked my father more than him. Okay, it was ages ago, but it still happened. I'd be pretty pissed. But he seemed fine with it. I wonder why.

"Can we get back to the story, please?" I asked, and from the corner of my eye I saw Nemu shift in her chair. Oh, was she still alive? I thought she might have died or something because she hadn't moved a muscle in about twenty minutes.

"In the end, it was Grimmjow who killed Ulquiorra. After Ulquiorra almost killed Ichigo. Again." I sighed. My father failed. At life. That's why, I decided, that he'd become a shinigami. "At that time, the others were fighting the remaining three Espada. We left Nel in the care of Grimmjow, and that's how he came about to be the first Espada. By default, because all the others were defeated." I nodded.

"By then, Urahara had managed to open the way back to the real world, so we could join in the fighting, but we didn't stay at all. We went to Soul Society, with the captains that had come to Hueco Mundo, to stop Aizen from destroying Karakura town and creating the Kings Key."

"We got there and found Tousen with Ichimaru's sword sticking through him. He attempted to take Aizen out, but Aizen blew him away easily. He then fought with his former superior officers who had been exiled for gaining Hollow masks, and doing what Aizen had been doing to the Hollow. But they too lost to him. It was then that Hinamori-san came into the fight." Orihime paused at my cry of surprise. I thought that she was still a bit mad about Aizen at that point. "We were all surprised too, but even more so when she suddenly screamed 'Bankai'!"

"What's Bankai?" I asked. I began to wonder if it was some sort of insult from Soul Society. Like traitorous asshole, insane son of a bitch, sick bastard, etc. That kind of thing. He was kind of a Judas, from what I'd gathered. Except a million times worse.

"Oh…that…well, it's a technique that shinigami use. It's unique to every shinigami and their sword…it's basically the most powerful one they can use, and it takes ten years to master it…even if your father did it in only three days…" I raised an eyebrow. He still failed at life, but damn.

"That's not true, Orihime. He _achieved_ Bankai in three days. _Mastering_ it took him a lot longer than that…" Aha. That sounds more like it. "Anyway, no one had any idea Hinamori-san could use Bankai, but even so, she was no match for Aizen. And by then, the other captains had defeated the remaining Espada, and returned to Soul Society to join in the fight," Ishida said, and I pursed my lips. Whitey wouldn't have been happy about Aizen hurting Hinamori again.

"Toushirou-kun and Rangiku-san went ballistic because of Hinamori-san and Ichimaru," Orihime continued, and I nodded. So this Ichimaru was important to Ran-nee-chan. "And Kira-kun, and Abarai-kun too, because Hinamori-san is a very important friend to them. But even so, Aizen's sword gave him the power of complete hypnosis."

My confused look made her explain. "He could create a complete illusion that would fool someone who had seen him release his sword. And there weren't very many people who hadn't."

"So…how did you defeat him? You _did _defeat him, right?" I asked, completely confused.

"A lot of people got hurt, and we lost some of our friends. But…it was at this point that we learned that some of our other friends had spirit power, and were under the training of Yoruichi-san and another…friend of ours." I didn't like the pause. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Ishida-san…who was that friend?" I demanded of her, and she pursed her lips, looking to her husband for confirmation. He gave it.

"Kurosaki Isshin." I stared at her, waiting for her to say 'just kidding!'. "Who also used to be a captain level shinigami." That 'just kidding' would have been just brilliant right now. This was just perfect. Let's see, mother, father, uncle, aunt, most likely other aunt, and now grandfather. All with spirit power. Fan-_fucking_-tastic. I'd really hit the genetic jackpot, hadn't I? I was a shinigami, through and through. I just didn't have actual abilities.

"Shall I continue?" I waved my hand at her, telling her wordlessly to go on. "And these friends had never seen Aizen's release. So, they did what they'd been told. Closed their eyes, ambushed Aizen and knocked his sword out of his hands. He didn't see it coming. But he still hurt them, even without his sword."

Wow. For something so complicated, the solution was so…simple. "By that time, there weren't many people left who could fight." I looked at Nemu's father as he continued the story. "In fact…it was just Kuchiki Rukia, Kurosaki Ichigo and…well, no, just those two." There was a slightly strange smile on his face as he glanced over at his wife. I followed his gaze, and found her sucking her cheeks in, as if holding her tongue. She must have been after that 'and'. And not able to fight, it seems.

"You didn't seem to mind so much when I was getting rid of that giant gaping hole in your stomach, Ishida Uryuu. I should have left you to Unohana-san." The look of utter terror on his face showed that he was completely whipped. And I didn't think Unohana was a scary person…maybe she was one of those people who seemed completely gentle when you first meet them, and then you realised they were totally and utterly psychotic once you got to know them.

"And then it was the combined efforts of your parents, Hisana, which killed Aizen." Yep. I was absolutely positive that I was a household name now. Or at least, my parents were. "It took a long time for everyone to recover, but when most had, the celebrations…they went on for days." I can imagine. Save the world, have a party. Yep. Sounds about right.

"Everyone went a bit mad. There were love confessions right, left and centre, and even some marriage proposals." I raised my eyebrows. Weren't you supposed to do that _during _a war, not after it?

"No, Orihime, that was just Kyouraku. It was nothing new to anyone for him to do that. "

"But still…it was romantic, wasn't it? Even if Nanao-san did dump her drink over his head, say no and proceed to pass out on him. And Ichigo and Rukia…oh…it made me smile so much…" Strange, considering she was supposed to be you know, like, in love with my dad at that point.

"Lies. I found you crying your heart out later that evening." That's a bit more like it now. But should he _really _be saying this in front of, oh, you know, his daughter and the daughter of the man who caused this beautiful woman misery. The urge to beat the crap out of my father suddenly increased.

"I got over it." She said it so nonchalantly that I had to believe she was lying. "Anyways, nine months later I was a godmother to their child who was so beautiful that I didn't care." Aw, she was talking about me. I didn't know she was my godmother. I wasn't even aware that I had one.

I leaned back into my chair, stretching my arms above my head. "Geez, that's romantic. They got wasted at a party and Okaa-san got preggers with me at the ripe old age of…" They told me this happened eighteen years ago. I was only _just _sixteen. Add nine months to that. It wasn't even seventeen years. My arms dropped as I turned my head to stare at the Ishida's. "…You're not my godmother, are you?"

* * *

**Look, about my version of the war - I'm no Kubo Tite. I'm not going to go through every little detail about what I think the winter war is going to be like, because I honestly have no idea what is going to happen. I just said what is necessary for this story to be consistent. (I also did not like this chapter D)**

**I did not know guiltier was a word. It looks weird. So I didn't use it. XD **

**By the way, if you didn't get what that last paragraph means, prepare yourselves for a bombshell. …in two chapters time. Because next time, it's Nemu's turn to shine. (omfg, rhyming)**


	13. Nemu and Omake longer than chapter

**OMFG. BLEACH TODAY - HISAGI WAS SOOOOOOOOO CUUUUUUUUUUTE! -squee- Nothing else to comment on the chapter. :D Anime, though. FILLERS SHOULD DIIIIIIIIE.**

**Disclaimer; If I owned Bleach, I wouldn't be lying on my best friends bed and shouting at her laptop for having a crappy keyboard. Teehee. **

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My mother's look of_ 'oh holy mother fucking shit what have I done' _answered Hisana's question. I didn't watch my best friend as she stumbled out of the kitchen, and I didn't jump as I heard the front door slam open and close. I breathed deeply as I listened to my mother mumble half curses under her breath, and my father get up and comfort her.

"They're going to kill me!" she wailed, and my father just hushed her. Unbelievable. I considered simply going up to my room and locking myself in there, but unlike Hisana, I didn't have a mini-fridge always packed to the brim with sugar filled goodies.

"Are you going to continue the story?" I snapped, staring at my parents with the good old Ishida 'holier-than-thou' glare I learned from my grandfather. Their shocked looks spurred me on, and I suddenly felt the influences of having such a mordacious best friend. "Or are you going to continue on like nothing ever happened at all? Is this why I can't become a shinigami? Because neither of you are one?"

My father stepped forward. "It's actually because your spirit power is-"

"That of a Quincy, yeah, I know. Urahara told me. And I take it you are one too. So, what exactly _is _a Quincy?" I asked, my face set, bringing myself to my full height, puffing up my chest. I'd been told by numerous people that when I did this I terrified them. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to faze my parents.

"I'm a Quincy. I'm the _only _Quincy." I stared at him in confusion.

"What…does that mean?" I watched him as he sighed and sat down. My mother placed a hand on his shoulder, watching him take off his glasses and clean them on the hem of his shirt.

"The Quincy were a clan of people that had spirit powers, unique to their own kind. They had their own powers, their own abilities, their own rituals and rules. But because they had spirit powers, they were attacked by Hollow. This made them angry, and soon they started killing Hollow."

"So does that make them like shinigami?" I asked, sitting back down, opposite my father. I wanted to know about this power I inherited, and why it meant I couldn't become a god of death.

"No…because unlike a shinigami, a Quincy can't save the Hollow's soul. They…they completely destroy it. And because of that, the shinigami demanded that they stop. But they refused, blinded by their grief, and continued to throw the spiritual world out of balance. In the end, the shinigami had no choice but to go to war." My hands flew to my mouth, and I realised how cold they were as they stopped me from crying out. "That was two hundred years ago. The only line of Quincy's left were the Ishida's."

"Otou-san…" I whispered through my fingers, my eyes wide and blinking back tears.

"My grandfather, your great grandfather, was the one who taught me to use my abilities, was the last remaining Quincy who was proud of his heritage. That pride, he passed down to me, but the war made me realise that I didn't want anyone else to have these cursed powers. I would let the Quincy die with me."

"I won't let that happen!" I told him, standing abruptly. "That's horrid! Otou-san, you should still be proud of those powers! If you didn't have them then you wouldn't have been as close to Okaa-san and then I would have never had been born! Otou-san, I want you to teach me how to be a Quincy!"

He looked hesitant, shaking his head, disagreeing with me. "I'm not going to-"

"I think you should do it, Uryuu." I love my mother so much. "Hisana-chan is going to become a shinigami, whether her parents like it or not. Even if Tatsuki-chan puts Kenpachi-kun under house arrest, you know he'll find some way of going to Urahara." I nodded, egging her on. "It wouldn't be fair to Nemu if her friends were gaining the possible abilities they could have, while her talents go to waste."

"Please, Otou-san…" I whispered, reaching out and grasping his hand tightly. He lifted his glasses off his nose and rubbed at his eyes. He was thinking about it. That much I knew from almost sixteen years of observing him.

"I…" That pause held me in suspension for what felt like years, even though it can't have been more than ten seconds. "I think about it. I'll inform you of my decision tomorrow…I'm going to bed…"

I took a deep breath, and felt my face stretch into a wide smile, watching his back as he retreated to his room. I turned my mother and threw my arms around her neck, feeling tears run down my cheeks. "Why didn't you tell me about the stuff you'd been through?!" I sobbed into her shoulder, suddenly fully understanding Hisana's tears earlier in the day.

"We didn't want you to suffer the burden, honey…Hisana-chan and Kenpachi-kun especially, because their story is much more complicated than yours is…both of your parents are alive and kicking…" I nodded as she explained to me, but I still didn't completely comprehend it. If they'd told us from the start…we would have understood it better…

"But Okaa-san…" I mumbled, one hand reaching up to wipe away the tears that kept flowing. I continued to blubber as she rubbed my back soothingly. I wanted to tell her that they should have told us. It just didn't seem to come out.

"I understand how you feel, Nemu, but can you understand it from our point of view? Our childhood had been cut short by this war. We'd grown up too fast because of it. We spent the last years of it trying to catch up on school, and three months after I left school, I had you." I hadn't thought about it that way.

"We were famous throughout the spirit world, famous for being the living souls that helped defeat Aizen. And famous people always have famous children. We didn't want you living with the knowledge that your parents had fought in a war, and despite the protests of the Spirit world, we kept it from you. Well, that was our reason…for Tatsuki-chan and Ichigo, it's a lot different."

"Because Abarai-san and Hisa-chan's mum are shinigami, right?" I asked, and she nodded. "But how does that even work?" I mean, dead person + living person half dead person, right? Does that mean Hisana and Kenpachi are zombies?!

"Well, I'm not _quite _sure what the science is, but because one of their parents is a technically living soul, the child cannot be born as just a soul, but with a living body as well. Ahh, Kurotsuchi-taichou would explain it better…"

"Kurotsuchi-taichou? Who's that?"

"Oh, he's the Twelfth Squad Captain. He's the mad scientist of Soul Society." I blinked at my mother's description of him. He sounded…well, strange. To put it lightly. "He's done all these horrible experiments, truly awful. He wanted to experiment on me at one point…I actually think he still does…" I stared at her, wide eyed. What the…!

"Okaa-san…I'm slightly worried about these Soul Society people…especially this Kurotsuchi person…" Her laughter confused me.

"You know, his vice captain, he built her." BUILT HER?! WHAT?! "He's that much of a mad scientist. She was killed in the war, but he somehow managed to rebuild her, retaining all her memories. And you know, she saved your father's life."

"What has her name?" I asked. I wanted to meet this person who'd saved my dad and thank them. Actually, I wanted to thank everyone who'd gone to that Hollow world to save my mother, too.

"Kurotsuchi Nemu." I blinked again. Huh? "That was her name, silly. She's the one we named you after, because she saved us. And you heard us talk about Nel-chan?" I nodded. "Well, Nel-chan helped me through Hueco Mundo, so I gave you the name Neliel after her…I thought it was fitting…"

I smiled softly at my mother. "I'm happy that you named me after people that helped you when you were in trouble, Okaa-san." She started to giggle, and I couldn't understand why.

"I was just thinking about how funny it would be if I'd called you Ichigo!" I had to giggle with her.

* * *

**Anyways, I did tell some of my reviewers that Nemu and Kenpachi would get their turn, so here is Nemu. Do not fret; she will get more chapters to herself later on. And Kenpachi will get his turn too. **

**I have discovered that twelfth is also a weird word. **

**Next time, it's back to Hisana and her shocking discovery! …I just sounded like a cheesy soap opera voiceover. **

**Oh, I also wanted to do a little omake…just for myself, you know, because we are considerably LACKING in Ichiruki goodness in this story. –sigh- Anyways, this is what Orihime mentioned in the previous chapter. **

"So…"

"Yeah…" Rukia shifted uncomfortably beside Ichigo, playing with the rim of the champagne flute in her hand. It didn't even have champagne in it, she hated the stuff. This was some sparkling sort of juice. She looked up as Ichigo let out a nervous chuckle. "What?"

"Kyouraku just got shot down again." He gestured to the place where a slightly red faced Shinsui was wiping the drink that was dripping down his face as an equally red faced Nanao swayed on the spot. Rukia smiled.

"Poor guy," she mumbled, and she averted her gaze to the ground as Ichigo looked at her again. Oh god, this was so embarrassing. She could _completely _relate to Shinsui rightnow.

Ichigo, on the other hand, was wondering what the hell to say. He was still recovering from that day. And he wasn't talking about the day he and Rukia defeated Aizen. No, he was talking about the day that Orihime regretted leaving him to Unohana. Unohana was a brilliant woman, but even _she_ couldn't prevent somecomplications in his condition, especially after all the damage he took. But all it took was Rukia.

After all, it's not every day that Rukia screams at you to live or she'll never forgive you or ever be happy with anyone else because she loves every moronic, reckless, carrot-topped bone in your body, tears streaming down her cheeks and fighting against every shinigami of the Fourth Division to try and get to you. It'd be enough to stop any half brained idiot's organs from bleeding profusely. Of course, a good old dose of Shun Shun Rikka didn't do him any harm either.

But she hadn't talked to him properly since she said it. He was starting to think she regretted it. He gulped as Matsumoto went past, laughing drunkenly with the newly re-instated Third Squad Captain. This party was getting way too rowdy for them to have a talk. No. Conversation. Talk sounded too much like '_The Talk'_. He grabbed her hand – her hand, not her wrist like he'd always done – and pulled her through the crowd, ignoring the loud catcalls from the Eleventh Division, led by that damned light bulb baldie.

"Ichigo, let go of me!" she yelped, swiftly placing her glass on a table as he dragged her past it. Rukia reached out her free hand, hoping for someone to grab it and save her from the depths of Blushville, but all she got was Hinamori waving at her. She was going to smack that peach later. Her and her ice dragon boyfriend. So what if _he_ had the _strongest_ Ice/Snow type zanpakuto. _Hers_ was _prettiest_, and she would use it to _kick their asses for not saving her_.

When they were in one of the quiet, dark halls of the First Division building (where today's party was taking place), Ichigo stopped and released her hand. Rukia clutched her hand to her chest, glad to finally have regained ownership of it. "Rukia, we need to talk." Oh hell. What she wouldn't give to be anywhere else. Give her a thousand Kaienncars; that – she could handle. But she couldn't handle this. She had to go and open her stupid big mouth.

"No, we don't." Ichigo rolled his eyes. He had a feeling she would get like this. She was avoidant about things like _feelings _– he knew that. She hated showing hers, she kept them to herself and for her to proclaim her love (oh how nice it felt for him to think that!) for him in front of basically the whole of the Fourth Division was something that she'd never even dream of if she had been in a right state of mind and not still slightly doped up from the painkillers she was on. It was just not Rukia. Hell, she said it herself; she wouldn't thank him for saving her from the stupid giant flaming bird. He knew it was because she didn't want to say she was happy.

"Yes, we do. I may have been losing consciousness at the time, but I still heard what you said." Her face lit up like a pink tinted light bulb. "Rukia, I just want to know…did…do you mean it?" Okay, he couldn't look at her while he asked it. He didn't want her to see his blush.

Her eyes widened as she stared at his feet. Her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish's as she tried to get the answer out. Of course! He knew almost as well as anyone that she didn't like talking about anything emotional. It was unsightly for a shinigami, no less a Kuchiki to reveal their feelings. And she was currently on a hate trip for Unohana. The woman had saved her life, but she was a huge gossiper. It didn't help that she was so cunning about it, either. Her Nii-sama had even questioned her on it. God, it had been possibly the worst moment of her life. _Including Kaien's death. _

Ichigo grunted as Rukia's fist rammed into his stomach. She didn't remove it, and he knew it was much softer than the usual beatings she gave him. "That's for not believing me. Yes, I meant it, you _idiot_. I wouldn't have _said it _if I didn't _mean it_." He stared down at her.

Rukia found herself pinned against the wooden wall that was running along beside her a mere split second ago. She stared back at chestnut eyes that she'd only seen so serious when they asked her if they could remain a shinigami in that first month of their meeting. It hadn't even been a year. She didn't understand it. She'd met him at the end of spring. He saved her life in the summer. They reunited and saved Orihime in the autumn. And winter was drawing to a close. How she came to love him that much in such a short time was unbeknownst to her.

"Good." The corners of his lips twitched upwards as he removed his hands from the wall and straightened. About to turn, he let out a sound of surprise as small hands grabbed the front of his pale blue kimono and dragged the upper half his body down to Rukia level.

Her thin eyebrows rose at him as he stared at her in shock. Placing her forehead against his, her gaze became harsh. "Good? That's all you have to say?" When he smirked at her, she could have rammed her knee where it really hurt. Fine then, she'd make him say it. And they were already in suitable positions for it, too.

At this point, any _normal _girl would have kissed him, Ichigo thought as he was thrown sideways, to the ground. But Rukia was not normal. That was for sure. He landed - flat on his face, of course – and he winced as he felt his arms being jerked up in an unnatural position. And then there was the plopping of the Kuchiki princess' little bottom on his back. "I'm not moving until you say it." Oh, he should have known. Here he was, being a normal fifteen and a half year old boy _for once_, thinking he might actually get lucky, and he gets straddled. In the bad way.

"Say what, Rukia? I don't know what you're talking about." Ichigo replied, trying to remain apathetic but it was really hard when someone with a bony backside like Rukia's was sitting on you. He did have to grin as he heard a feral growl come from deep in her throat. His eyes widened as she leant forward to deliver a puff of air to his ear. Oh lord, she was playing dirty here.

"It's Rukia-sama to you, boy," she whispered, barely audible over the noise of the party going on outside. They'd started on the fireworks already. When he didn't answer, Rukia pushed his arms even further towards his neck. Anymore and she might break them.

"I know not of what thou does want me to say, Oh Great Rukia-sama. Perhaps thou would divulge thy low and humble slave Ichigo of what thou would like to hear?" He could clearly imagine her look of complete and utter fury. Ahh, it was times like these that he lived for. "Ah! Okay, okay!" he yelped as he felt his limbs suddenly ready to pop out of their sockets. "I…"

"Say. It."

"I…"

"Ichigo, say it or I'll tell everyone what your little closet hides."

"I l…l…love…Al Pachino…"

There was a three second interval during which Rukia's brain processed what Ichigo had just said and during which Ichigo's ability to keep from laughing deteriorated into nothing. He really couldn't hold it in much longer when Rukia silently got up and stalked down the corridor. Ichigo stared at her retreating back for a split second before scrambling to his feet. He knew she wouldn't attempt shunpo, because he was faster. He knew she wouldn't whip Shirayuki out on him because it would cause too much destruction. He knew she'd be too angry to even slap him. So he grabbed her hand, spun her round and kissed her, stopping the angry tears that were streaming down her face.

She pulled back first and slapped him. "All you had to do was say it, moron." She could have punched him when he grinned, the hand shaped mark on his face stark red.

"Yeah, but that wouldn't have been as fun."

**Every time I breathe out my right nostril is whistling. It's really annoying me. **

**You know, it's sad. The omake was longer than the actual chapter. That's how much I was craving Ichirukiness. Anyway, as I said, back to Hisana in the next chapter. : ) **


	14. Hitsuzen

**So, um, yeah. Last chapter, well…not so much feedback on it…did you guys not like it? Or is the way I portray the character of Nemu too…boring? I actually hated that chapter, but people seemed to want to see her and Kenpachi more, I thought I'd put it in…oh well. Guess we just won't have any other centric other than Hisana.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, I'd publish it during Golden Week. -scowl-**

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I sprinted through the streets of Karakura, my chest heaving, my blood thumping in my ears, and my legs aching with the impact of my feet slamming into the ground with every stride. Where do I go first? My house? Would they even be there? Or would they still be at the Urahara Shoten? I didn't have a clue.

I slowed down, eventually jogging to a stop. What was I going to say? Was it even true? I breathed heavily, trying to gather my thoughts. "Fuck…" I whispered, bending over and using my knees to keep myself from falling flat on my face. I could feel the sweat dripping down the side of my face, and I clenched my eyes tight shut. I felt like I'd run a marathon, when it couldn't have been more than three miles.

"You know, I can get you there faster." I snapped my neck up so quickly I got whiplash. Damned cat. Wait. CAT?! "Oh, don't look so surprised." Despite what it had just ordered me to do, I had to stare at it in shock. A cat was talking to me. A cat. Was talking. To me. A _cat._ Was _talking_. To _me_. _A cat was talking to me_.

The black feline sighed. "If only your mother hadn't interrupted Kisuke…" Urahara? THIS WAS YORUICHI THE CAT! God, it even talked like her. "I might have been able to teach you even a little shunpo…make everything easier, it would." I don't have a clue what shunpo is. And how it would make everything easier is even more of a wonder to me.

The cat sighed again. I narrowed my eyes at it, suddenly feeling like I would not be guilty if I delivered a swift kick to it. I can't deny that the thought crossed my mind. "You parents aren't here at the minute." I looked around me. Well, of course they weren't. I'd be able to see them. "I mean _here _as in the _living world_, you _idiot_. Honestly, worse than your father, you are." I was positive now. Kicking it would have made me delirious with happiness.

"Well then, how can I get to them?" I snapped, not caring if I was being cheeky or not. It was cat, it didn't demand respect. Hold it. This cat was the one that attempted to scratch my eyes out. I glared at it with contempt. Bastard cat. It seemed to grin at me, and wagged its tail.

"Mind lending me your jacket?" I stared down at my knee length coat. No way in hell, man! This was my favourite jacket, I could wear it in any season and it would keep me warm or cool. I wasn't giving it to some smelly old cat!

You know, by the time I looked up, the smoke was clearing and the cat was gone. Speechless, I handed my coat over to a very naked Yoruichi the person, who closed it up and tied the belt tightly around her waist. It barely came to her mid thigh. My short stature versus her long legs. Bitch. It didn't help that she had hips that could birth a nation either, while mine were virtually non-existent. God. I hate my mother for being _so damn small and curveless_.

I followed her meekly, keeping my eyes on her heels so I could still see where she was going but not having to actually look at her. "If you want, we can take you there…" I didn't look up. I shook my head, despite her not being able to see me. I didn't want to go to that Soul Society place, if that's where they were. "But, that would involve you running for your life, and you seem to have done a bit of that already…" She grinned back at me, and I sighed.

"Yoruichi-san, you fought in the Winter War, didn't you?" I asked, and she stopped walking so suddenly that I almost bumped into her. Her golden irises glinted in the dim streetlight as she looked at me from the corner of her eye.

"I take it the Ishida's told you, then?" I nodded in reply. She sighed. "Yes, I fought in the Winter War…what do you want to know about it?" She got straight to the point. My nails found the skin of their neighbouring fingers, prying away at it, leaving it red raw.

"Well…my parents…did they ever…almost die…like, properly?" I hadn't had time to ask Ishida-san. I didn't want to. It was just…the thought of one of them almost seriously losing their life, it made me feel so…guilty. I'd told them that I hated shinigami. They must have understood that I meant them. I'm still not sure. I want to confirm what Nemu's mother had let slip. Then, I'll decide.

"More than once." I closed my eyes, wincing internally. I was such a little bitch. "Your father especially. He's one of the luckiest people I know. He survived to today because of his will to live on, and of course, freak accidents." Her humourless laugh made me bite my lip.

"Tell me about some of them while you take me to Urahara-san, please." I needed to talk to the shadowy shopkeeper. He was insanely intelligent – that much I gathered from what Nemu's parents had told me. He would know what I should do.

"Well, there was the time when your father fought Zaraki Kenpachi – the most bloodthirsty man in history and Yachiru-chan's father. If I hadn't found Ichigo when I did, he would have bled to death." I nodded as we turned a corner, getting a wolf whistle from a gang of drunken young men. They weren't wolf whistling at me. That was obvious.

"Hey pretty girl, you wanna come hang out with us?" I stopped and looked at them with disdain as they heckled some more. "Come on!" They were looking at me. I blinked and pointed at myself, asking them a silent question. "Yeah, you! I don't see anyone else with you!" I stared at them, and then swung my head around to Yoruichi. Wait. What?

"Oh, by the way. I'm not wearing a gigai, so they can't actually see me." I frowned as she continued walking. What the hell was a gigai? "And then there was the time your mother fought against the Ninth Espada." What, she was just continuing the story?! I chased after her, much to the disappointment of the young drunkards, deprived of their chance of female attention. Phft. Men.

"If it hadn't been for Byakuya-bo coming, she'd definitely have bled to death…" I raised my eyebrow. Byakuya-bo? Suddenly, I got a glimpse into Yoruichi and my Uncle's relationship. She was the bully and he was the bullee. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"And when Ichigo fought Ulquiorra for the second time." Oh, here we go. The epic Ulqi-fights, as I had dubbed them, had piqued my interest. It really was a shame this guy was dead. I'd like to have met the emotastic bastard. "The only reason he survived that was because Orihime got rid of the hole in his chest…he was an inch away from death at that point…" I frowned. This was the second time I'd heard that Ishida-san was good at getting rid of holes. It was rather disturbing, if you think of it.

"Ooh! You know what was a good one? When Ichigo first saw my real form! That was just after the Zaraki fight, and he freaked out so bad that he just tore his wounds open again…" she paused to laugh here while my eyebrows raised behind my bangs. Okie dokie then…

By the time we arrived at Urahara's I was sick of hearing about the hilarious reactions of people when they first saw Yoruichi's true form after only knowing her as a cat. There's only so long my patience can run on, you know?

"Kisuke! I brought her!" Yoruichi's voice echoed through the empty shop and into the house, my coat suddenly lying on the floor as she changed into a cat. Scowling, I slipped off my shoes and picked the coat up, following that stupid cat form of hers along the corridor to the room where I'd first met the three captains and Grimmjow. Funny. It had only happened early today.

"Ah, Hisana-chan, hello there!" I sucked on my cheek as I looked down at Urahara. He was grinning at me like the Cheshire Cat, the conniving idiot. I sat down unceremoniously, glaring at him and leaning on my elbows. His smile faltered as I continued to gaze at him with the 'Try anything funny and you die' look.

"I'm not going," I said, before he could even take the breath before speaking. He sighed loudly, pulling his hat down over his eyes. "And before you ask why, it's because I don't want to go to a place where I may find someone that I don't want to know exists." He stared at me for a few seconds, before nodding.

"I think I understand," he told me, serving the tea that Soifon had brought into the room, before excusing herself to help Yoruichi dress. What, can't she put on her own damn clothes? I watched the cat struggle against Soifon's obvious iron grip with a twisted sort of pleasure.

I sat in the comfortable silence, sipping my tea, when the thought occurred to me. "Urahara-san, why did you help me?" The question made him look at me over the rim of his cup. Setting it down, he sighed again, and took off his hat. I blinked. He was actually…normal looking. (Rather attractive, actually, but that would only be if you didn't know he was a complete and utter psycho.)

"Because it's entirely my fault." I tilted my head. Say what? "Ishida-san told you about the Hougyoku, didn't she?" I nodded, not really sure what he was leading up to. "I was the one who created it." I stared at him for a few seconds, before looking down at my tea cup, my mouth forming an 'oh' shape. No sound came out.

"With hindsight, I know that I went about it in completely the wrong way, but, I wanted to hide the Hougyoku, using your mother's soul and planning so that she would use the gigai that would render her a normal human." I listened in silence, my mind going a million miles an hour. "But it went wrong, because I didn't suspect Aizen Sousuke of ever following the examples his former superiors and comrades by using the Hougyoku, especially after their exile. He was the one who sent Kuchiki-san and Abarai-kun to retrieve Kuchiki-san, which ruined my plans of her becoming a normal human." My hands clenched the folds of my skirt as I bit my lip.

"And I didn't mean for your father to get involved. It must have been _hitsuzen_, for I did not think that Kurosaki-kun would have strong enough spiritual powers while still alive to attract Hollows. Even if he was the son of a shinigami." I stood, once again using the (minimal) height difference to my advantage.

"Urahara-san, I don't want to hear the story again. It was hard enough the first time." He nodded at me. "Just answer me this one question. Are you making me a shinigami because it was your fault that they got involved?"

"Yes." I took a deep shuddering breath, turned on my heel and walked out of the room. I heard a sigh as I slid open the shop door and slipped on my shoes. While tying my laces, I was thrown into the shadow of Urahara. "I take it you'll be-"

"Back for my training. Yeah." I didn't look at him as I threw my jacket on, and stalked out of the shop. I could practically see him open his fan and smile behind it as I walked out the door. Sighing, I looked up to the skies.

I thought I wanted to know. I didn't. I thought I wanted to know if my deductions were correct, and that I…I couldn't even say it. It was enough about the shinigami thing. Enough that I'd been lied to about _that_. But at least I knew my mother was dead, and I'd met everyone who was a shinigami, and that I at least _knew they existed. _

But this…I felt like crying again. What time was it, even? I didn't have a watch, and my phone battery was dead. Sighing, I scuffed my shoes along the ground, wandering through the streets of my hometown. Was it even my hometown? Maybe they'd lied about that too. My rather melancholic thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heckling again. Honestly, _men_. Still drinking?

"Hey, girlie! You sure you don't wanna join us?" I ignored them. And the large Hollow behind them. They were so drunk they didn't notice the trees felling behind them. Oh well. Someone would get that Hollow.

Okay. Starting to get a little scared. Hollow jumped over drunken men. Going for me. Okay, right, somebody help me. I'm not a shinigami yet! I started to run, sprinting around corners, trying to escape. Yeah, this is was almost a repeat of the first time I'd seen a Hollow. It was faster than me. My legs were too short. And now I'd just rammed into someone else and fallen flat on my ass.

I was about to tell them to run, tell them to keep running and don't stop until they got home, but it was at that point that they separated from their body, and I watched the shinigami jump over me and slice the Hollow neatly in two. Sighing, I lay down on the ground, not really caring. I think I needed to become a shinigami, and fast. I couldn't rely on everyone else to protect me.

"Hey, are you ok..aa…y…" The young, dark haired, wimpy looking shinigami who'd quickly re-entered his body trailed off in his sentence, his hand still outstretched to me. "Are you…Hisana-chan?"

* * *

**For those of you who are not xxxHOLiC/Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles readers/watchers/fans, and don't know what it is, this is the meaning of **_**hitsuzen**_**, taken from the translation notes of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles Volume One. '**_**Hitsuzen; a naturally foreordained event. A state in which other outcomes are impossible. A result which can only be obtained by a single causality and other causalities would necessarily create different results. **_**(Gosh I do love Yuko! :3) I do like to believe that it was this **_**hitsuzen **_**that brought Ichigo and Rukia to meet, and not Urahara's dirty plans. XD**

**And yes, I meant felling, not falling. I blame my English Literature teacher. Stupid poems about stupid trees. Stupid Romantic Poets. Blerg. **

**Oh. Yah. DUDE, WHO IS THIS SHINIGAMI?! Lawl. You guys don't know. I do. I wonder if someone can guess. Probably can. I'm waffling. **


	15. Hiatus

**So, uhm, yeah. I'm really sorry guys, but I'm going to have to go on a short hiatus. I have exams coming up (if anyone who reads this is in the UK and does/did Additional Maths for GCSE, they KNOW what a complete bitch it is.), and even though they're not completely important, I'd like to do well in them because I was sick during my Winter exams and didn't do so good. At least, for the standard I set myself. **

**Another reason is that I'm completely stumped for ideas. I've run out of chapters that I've written ahead. I'm starting to feel that Stick That in Your Juice Box is becoming more like Uchiha Xairylle's 'Oh My!' series, and I really hate it when my own story become like a story that I've read before and greatly admire. If you guys want to suggest anything, feel free to; it'd really help me out. **

**Also, I'm getting slightly bored with Bleach. I don't know what it the exact reason is, but the anime probably has something to do with it. And I adore the flashbacks, they really give the story even more structure, but, to be **_**completely **_**honest, I just want Bleach to end soon. –hides from all the cries of 'JUDAS'- But, yeah. I think I only keep watching it is to see if Ichigo actually doesn't get himself killed and marries Rukia. And uh, because I'm pedo-bear for Shiro-chan. **

**And lastly…I've got an idea for another story in my mind, and it just won't go away. I can't write two stories at the same time, it's a rule I set myself, and this one is completely dominating Stick That in Your Juice Box. Unfortunately for you readers, it's not another Bleach fiction; it's a Card Captor Sakura fiction. I started off with CCS, and failed miserably, as those who checked my profile before I deleted those monstrosities could see. I only gained my confidence with my writing when I started writing Kingdom Hearts fiction, and by then I'd gone through three whole fandoms. (If you're wondering, Card Captor Sakura, Harry Potter (CRINGE!) and Tokyo Mew Mew (DOUBLE CRINGE!). By the way, these are not the only fandoms I belong to, they're just the ones I've written stories for XD) CCS is the only one I really miss, and I feel like this story could possibly be good if I just set my mind to it. (It's a lot darker than I usually go for. Not so much humour either. /) There's also…well, CCS…it's complete. It's stable. It's **_**not**_** going to change. With Bleach; there's **_**so**_** much instability and Kubo Tite could just ruin my story with one single pane, and I feel like I'd lose all faith in the story if that happened. **

**About that last paragraph. It's not for definite that I'm giving up on Stick That in Your Juice Box, not even the slightest bit. I'm a teenage girl hitting sixteen who mood swings all the time, and I could change my mind at any moment and think 'What the hell am I doing? I love this story, this idea, and there are others who love it too!' and run to my computer and type until my wrists fall off or I develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. So, I don't want comments going 'OMG, DON'T STOP WITH THIS STORY' or anything of the sort. If I'm continuing, the earliest I will be continuing is around the second week in June. That's after my exams. But, the thing is, I'm going on holidays in the last week in June, and won't be back until the middle of July. If I DO continue, I will have A LOT OF CHAPTERS when I get back. We're going to Brazil, like every year, and I get bored. My imagination goes into overdrive. (Seriously, if you went to my KH RP, and looked at the future plot you'd see what was a result of three weeks in Brazil.)**

**I'm really sorry about this. I've never had a story with so many reviews per chapter before, but I am going to try and get myself back into this story. I don't want to let you guys down. I'm really, truly sorry. **


	16. Sorry guys, I can't

**Kubo Tite, I hate you. **

**You ruined my story with your evil little Ichimaru, your three page escape from Soul Society, your stupid pillar thing, and Ichigo and Rukia's stupid reunion. SCREW YOU. **

**So, yeah. I've decided to give up on Stick That In Your Juice Box. I already said that I wasn't liking where it was going, and I really wasn't, as I just kept writing the same things that others had written before me, and I hate it when I do that. I like originality and stuff. And I was getting reviews that were asking me to continue when I really can't. **

**Plus, I've gone off Bleach almost completely. This new anime arc is just completely full of utter FAIL. FAILFAILFAIL, WITH PRINCESS HATFACE AND HER STUPID SHINIGAMI SERVANTS AND THE STUPID ARM WEAPON NINJAS THAT CAN BE KILLED BY EVEN ORIHIME, LED BY A COMPLETE RIPOFF OF KAKASHI FROM NARUTO AND THE MONKEY'S UNCLE, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE QUALITY FUCKING ANIMATION. **

**Congrats to those who recognise the Capslock Bleach references. You guys are the only thing that's keeping me in this fandom. I haven't even downloaded a single episode since the filler arc started, something unheard of from me (I have every single episode up to then. Even the Bount arc. And I thought IT was fail! I would watch it a thousand times over before watching this new arc. Stupid Princess Hatface.) **

**I'm off to the confines of CLAMP works, D.Gray-Man and the oh-so messed up Vampire Knight. Oh, and Shugo Chara. So much shoujo, it's brilliant. **

**CCS fic is well in progress. Loving every word that I'm typing. I hope that those of you who know CCS will read it when I put it up. (I'm going to have the whole thing written before posting. I refuse to put myself through a multichapter fic without having completely written it ever again. It only results in heartache, lack of muse and disappointment on part of the reader and myself.) **

**I don't know if I'll come back to writing Bleach. Probably one-shots, as the manga isn't looking very promising (despite Ichigo and Rukia FINALLY being reunited even if it didn't go the way I would have liked it to). An IchiUlqui fight? Wait a second, hasn't he already done that? Oh yes, TWICE. And hmmm, haven't I addressed this in this very fic? Ichigo, give it up already. RESPECT ORIHIME'S DEATHWISH. You're made of fail too. But not as much as princess Hatface. **

**Anyways, I digress. I'll leave the story up if you want to reread it. And I give anyone who wants it permission to take this story, it's ideas, it's characters and make it their own. So uhm...I bid you all farewell for now. I hope to see you all sometime in the near future, my dear babies. And I'm really sorry. **

**Izzy **

**x x x**

**P.S. SHUT UP, AIZEN, YOU FREAK. I HOPE HINAMORI IMPALES YOU ON TOBIUME AND MAKES IT 'SNAP'. THEN SHIRO CAN FREAKING FREEZE YOUR FREAKY LITTLE ASS. AND YOUR LITTLE ICHIMARU TOO. (Wizard of Oz, anyone?) Also, Orihime, my god do you ever stop being such a little weakling? I hope Kubo gives you some better powers now, or I'll really hate you. Oh, and Ulqi? Can you BE any gayer? **


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